A Tangled Web Part 5: How Much Is Too Much?
by ordinaryguy2
Summary: Battle lines are being drawn against the Borg once again as they invade the multiverse. This time we see heroes from Babylon 5/Crusade, Smallville, Highlander, Touched By An Angel, Brimstone, X-Files, Pretender and many more. Including a number of characters from law enforcement & detective shows.
1. Chapter 1

**A TANGLED WEB PART 5: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?**

 **By Charlie Nelson**

 _{This is a rewrite. Just so you know. I originally wrote Part 5 over fifteen years ago.}_

 **Disclaimer:** _I do not own any of the characters written in this story. All major and even some minor characters are owned by rich corporations and I am just borrowing them for this narrative. Also, I am not making any money by writing this fictional work. I write this for the fun of it as well as to better my creative instinct and grammatical skills._

 **Classification:** Crossover

 _I think I should explain that part of what I am trying to do with this story is to mix as many storylines together as possible and still make it interesting and true to the characters. The challenge to myself is to effectively blend some old sci-fi shows with some new sci-fi shows and maybe even a movie or two, but just those that I am familiar with. This particular story also has many police, detective and spy shows and movies thrown in as well. Another challenge I have is trying to get reviews from those that read my work._

 _This story will include many crossovers starting with DOCTOR WHO, SLIDERS and STAR TREK. Star Trek will always be the main contributor in these stories. This fifth part of my story will also rely heavily on SMALLVILLE, HIGHLANDER, 7 DAYS, PRETENDER, TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL, BRIMSTONE, BABYLON 5 and its offshoot series, CRUSADE, X-FILES, PRETENDER and many more. If anyone is unfamiliar with any of these shows I recommend that they look them up on the Internet. It will help, and the information is out there on them. Think of it as a learning experience._

 **Author's Note:** _I don't exactly agree with the exact theology of the shows TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL and BRIMSTONE, but I will try to use the guidelines of the two shows for continuity purposes. Most of my disagreements are with the show BRIMSTONE, in case you are wondering. I believe that hell is a one-way trip, and the devil wants to bring as many people there as he can because he is a sore loser. As for TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL, I think there should be a stronger emphasis on Jesus as well on that show. I know the show stresses that God loves people, but I wish it would also stress the fact that God wants a relationship with them as well and that Jesus died for their sins in order for that relationship to work._

 **Highlander** – _I'm following the series here, not the confusing, messed up continuity of the movies so Connor MacLeod is alive._

 **X-Files** – _Mulder and Scully still work together and were never separated._

 **Note:** _I planned this out long time ago to be my major major crossover. So don't say I didn't warn you._

 _I will try to make everything as clear and interesting as possible. Please send e-mail with advice on how to better my writing style and story. I do not claim to be a great writer, but with good and thorough critiquing I can become a better one._

 **Side note:** _Love the reviews. Keep them coming._

 **Warning:** _There will be some character deaths._

 _Special thanks to Jen for proofreading for me. And also for the advice provided by Phantom Dennis and AlbertG. I also recommend you check out their stories as well on ._

 **Special Challenge:** _This story will also have a large number of law enforcement type people who will either have very short roles or may be major characters. You'll have read to what to see who will be major and who will be minor. My challenge to you, dear reader, if you choose to accept it, will be to try to remember who the characters were and what shows they were on. I will include a list of the detectives and private investigators and the shows they stared in at the bottom of each chapter so that you can see how many you got right. I'll also let you try to figure out which ones are going to survive the Borg encounter._

 **Summary:** _What came before. The sliders were traveling between worlds and bumped into the Doctor's TARDIS, thus getting bounced into the 24th century of the Star Trek universe where the Borg got a hold of the Sliding technology thanks to interference from Q. Now the Borg are in orbit around the Earth's sun sending drones out into the multiverse, spreading themselves around to take over new frontiers. Meanwhile, Q was forced by the Q Continuum to fix the problem, but is punished in that he has to recruit others to stop the spread of the Borg for him. Three universes have been cleansed of the Borg infestation and this is the fourth. So, sit right back and read the tale._

 **A TANGLED WEB Part 5: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?**

 **By Charlie Nelson**

 **DEEP SPACE NINE, CURRENTLY ORBITING EARTH**

People filled Quark's bar in dread and anticipation as the two members of the Q continuum prepared to make their next round of selections. A few sat at the bar awaiting the outcome with a drink to soothe their nerves.

Retired Admiral Leonard McCoy slowly shuffled into the bar with the aid of a yawning Lt. Barclay. McCoy had always seen himself as just one of the many cogs in the contraption that made up Starfleet and mankind in general. So, with that in mind, he had Barclay lead him over to the bar and then, with some frustration and a little loss of dignity on the part of the admiral, Barclay helped him onto the barstool.

Barclay immediately regretted the decision once his sleepy eyes registered the sight of bulky Morn on one side of the admiral and muscular Worf on the other. "Uh, sir? Um, perhaps it would be better if, ah, if you sat at the table with the other admirals?"

Quark limped over to the new customer. He looked horrible even for a Ferengi. His beating at the hands of Buffy and the Stormtroopers could still be seen to some extent on his features. Dr. Bashir had recommended lots of bed rest but the Ferengi was not about to abandon his bar yet again while it had more potential customers inside than it had had in years. Besides, he noticed that many of the patrons came up to order a drink just so they could look at his bruises. "What will you have?"

"A glass of prune juice."

Both individuals seated on either side of the legendary ' _Bones_ ' reacted to his drink of choice. Morn, the alien seated to his right, turned away with a look of disgust on his face. Worf, however, was astonished as he looked over at the ancient man beside him. "You drink prune juice?"

McCoy examined the Klingon. He knew who Worf was. He had been sure to keep track of Starfleet's first Klingon cadet and his career on the Starfleet flagship, Enterprise partially out of old mistrust and as well as entertainment of the changes time brings forth. "It's what keeps me going," as commented stoically while he accepted his glass from the disgruntled Quark. "I'm over a hundred and forty years old; and I can use all the help I can get." And this was true, as McCoy had had to have his colon replaced bi-annually with a replicated copy because his old body was just too old to keep everything working properly.

"I, also, am drinking prune juice," the Klingon declared to McCoy's amusement. The warrior then held out his cup to make a toast. "To warriors and their battles!"

Not to outdone, McCoy held his glass out as far as he dared without spilling. "May it all work out in the end!"

Barclay's nervousness was getting the better of him. Even though he knew Worf pretty well, Barclay still felt it would be much safer if he could just get the McCoy over to the table that had been set up for the admirals. "Sir? Ah, that is, well, um, shouldn't we, er-?"

McCoy sighed as he set down his drink. He slowly slid off the barstool and Barclay helped him to the ground. "Just when I finally find a drinking partner I can stand, you gotta interrupt me. Not that anyone is actually goin' to let me make any important decisions. Get my glass, Lieutenant." He caught a glimpse of Barclay's sad puppy dog-like face out of the corner of his eye and figured he should say something to make amends. "Still the admirals have the best seats in the house. Lot easier sittin' on than those damn barstools, too."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Dr. Banner sat at the other end of the bar while he studied his surrounding as well as the wide variety of aliens around him. In his hand he nursed a bottle of root beer that a short, large lobed alien named Rom had bought for him. Banner's eyes scanned everything around him. He tried to retain a scientific eye for the experience, but he couldn't help a child-like exuberant smile from coming to his face.

"You're doing it again," commented Guinan with a Cheshire grin.

"Sorry," mumbled the twentieth century scientist as he tried to cover his smile with his hands. "I feel like a kid on his first trip to Disney World."

Guinan nodded in understanding. "I always liked the teacup ride myself."

Banner raised an eyebrow at the enigmatic woman, but didn't even bother to ask. "So why did Dr. Crusher run off to talk to that bald man in the red and black uniform?" Beverly had pulled Picard out into Promenade area as soon as they had all arrived. Luckily for Banner, Beverly had made sure to hand Dr. Banner off to Guinan before she left. He was rather grateful for that. He had noticed two alien women, who Guinan had said were Klingons, eyeing him hungrily. He was pretty sure that if Guinan were not there, he just might be in trouble.

"Well, just before Beverly left here, Captain Picard more or less openly declared his feelings for her."

"Oh," Banner answered with little enthusiasm.

"But don't despair. There are plenty of other girls available on the space station. Including me," she said with a smile.

"Oh really," he said with a smile of his own. "And you wouldn't mind going out with a retro guy like me? Help me catch on to all the things this century has to offer? Could take a lot of time?"

She laughed. "Trust me. I've got time. And unlike Beverly, I'm not planning to run off somewhere with some other man either."

"Well, that sounds inter-" There was a flash and Guinan was gone. And Banner was left alone with his carbonated soda. "I knew it was too good to be true."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Guinan looked about herself to get her bearings. She was still in Quark's bar. She had just been teleported across the room. And Q was right in front of her. "Q! You-You-You have the timing of a Romulan and the finesse of a Klingon!" She would have hit him if he hadn't disappeared from where he was and reappeared behind a very amused Q2.

"Well, sorry if I though you would make an effective member of a Borg fighting team!" shot back Q.

Guinan froze. "You choose me?" She suddenly thought of the opportunity of getting to fight the Borg herself. The very ones who had literally decimated her people and the planet of her birth, forcing the survivors to scatter around the galaxy. There is an old Earth proverb that says revenge is a dish best served cold. Guinan liked hers on a plate red hot with lots of spices. "About time."

"O'Brien to Captain Sisko," came a call through Sisko's comm badge.

"Sisko here." He ignored Q's look of disdain. Sisko had been consulting with Odo about all the new arrangements on the station now that it was orbiting Earth, and had over sixty-eight percent of its regular crew replaced just before it was moved. Things were mostly running smoothly so far, but every now and then a problem would occur that the regular technicians would not have let happen. Deep Space Nine was such a massive piece of machinery that had been pieced together with a wide variety of different technologies that, if you hadn't already been making yourself familiar with it for a few years, then you would have to be a Borg drone to understand how everything worked the way that it did. "What is it now?"

"We have a small vessel approaching that is ignoring all our hails to turn away. We register one life sign. Human. Male."

"Weapons?"

"None activated. And none that would be effective if they were activated."

"Any ideas to his intent?"

"Nothing so far… Wait a minute! His transportor is activated!"

"Where is-" He didn't have to complete his question as an older heavyset man materialized over next to one of the crewmembers of the Enterprise. "Never mind, O'Brien. We have him here. Sisko out."

The heavyset man in question was glancing about the room until he spotted someone. "Geordi!"

"Commander Scott?" Geordi stared at the legendary engineer in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"Heard the Enterprise was in a spot of trouble, so I came over to lend a hand," he explained as if it were no big deal. "I knew you would be where the trouble was, so I tracked you down to this station by your new eyes."

"My eyes?" Geordi didn't like the thought that someone could track down his position by searching for his new prosthetic eyes that had replaced his VISOR, even if that someone was the creative Montgomery Scott. "Look, I'd love to hear all about it, but we really got a problem here. You shouldn't have come."

"Ah, lad. When you hear your friends are in trouble, what else is there for you to do but to come an' help 'em out?"

"I agree," commented Q2. "I like this human's attitude. I choose him as my next delegate."

Geordi groaned.

Montgomery Scott looked around at some of the somber faces around him. "I take it that being selected by this fellow is not a particularly grand thing."

"Because it's not."

"Scotty!"

Scotty looked over towards the voice that had called out to him. "Bones? Is that you?"

"In the wrinkled flesh!" answered McCoy in a gruff but cheerful manner. "Come over here and I'll tell you what you got yourself involved in!"

Next to McCoy, Admiral Owen Paris rose from his seat. He was one of the few in this century who knew of Montgomery Scott's stasis in a transporter that had held him frozen in time for decades. Commander Scott and Admiral McCoy had been two of his childhood heroes. The same heroes that he had tried to impress upon his son when Tom was a child. He wasn't about to let Scott be subjected to die at the whim of a Q. He looked over at Janeway, the captain of Voyager that seemed to have the most influence with the Q, however she seemed willing to let Q2's decision stand. Admiral Paris did not agree with that. "I don't-"

"And I'll take that admiral over there, too," interrupted Q2 as he pointed to the senior Paris.

A number of people jumped up in protest. Captain Janeway raised both her hands as she attempted to regain the attention and cooperation of the room. Tension was high as the danger of the Borg threat was obvious to everybody who had watched the visual portals Q had created to show the exploits of those picked. As everyone quieted down, Janeway noticed her helmsman, Tom Paris, talking quietly to Q. She was pretty sure what Tom was up to, so she wasn't that surprised when Q made his next announcement.

"I'll select young Tom, here."

"Oh please, Q!" protested Q2. "Now you are giving into human sentiments? I think you have had way too much contact with these creatures. They seem to have a bad influence on you."

Q scowled at the insult. "I'll have you know that Tom here is physically fit, has knowledge of Earth's primitive cultures, and has fought against the Borg on more than one occasion. All of this makes him a good candidate for what we are asking him to go through. What are your candidate's assets?"

Before Q2 could respond, the hologram representing the next world that they were to rescue flickered and returned to the red energy ball filled with hundreds of smaller white balls.

"What's going on, Q?" asked Captain Janeway.

Q looked smug. "It seems we have won before we even arrived."

"So, I'm not going to Japan?" asked a relived Tom Paris.

"It appears not," answered Q2. Tom began to feel relived until he saw the grin on the powerful entity's face.

"But what happened?" demanded the elder Paris.

Q2 took brief moment to use his powers to gain the necessary knowledge to answer that question. "It appears that that particular parallel world had a small number of gigantic creatures of various types which were sometimes menaces and sometimes defenders of humanity."

The portals that Q had created to view those that had been selected earlier now showed the scenes of the giant monsters walking through various Japanese cities, some randomly destroying things, some fighting those that were causing the damage. Over all it looked like a very dangerous situation.

"The Borg arrived here during one of the battles seen here. The drones managed to infect one of the defenders, a giant turtle-like creature that the natives called Gamera. It took the combined efforts of similarly sized creatures, known as Godzilla, Mothra, and a three headed dragon-like creature called Ghidorah, to destroy the Gamera drone and the rest of the Borg populace." The various view portals focused on each of the massive monsters and then on the fight against their recently Borgified member, who was only in the first stage of Borg development due to the creature's massive size and the immediate lack of Borg technology in that universe.

Silence swept the room as everyone watched the last part of the battle scene in amazement. Wreckage from the damaged buildings had been thrown everywhere. Mothra, with her moth-like wings shredded, lay dead next to the fallen, broken remains of the giant turtle, Gamera. Ghidorah flew slowly away with one of its three heads hanging at an angle due to a broken neck. Godzilla, being more diligent, finished destroying the rest of the Human drones with his atomic breath, then, turning his head to the heavens, roared his victory cry. At the sight of this, the Klingons watching all jumped to their feet and let loose their own roars in pleasure at seeing such a fierce and phenomenal battle. They continued their yelling and drinking of blood-wine even as they watched Godzilla limp his way to the ocean to heal from his many battle wounds.

Worf finished his glass of prune juice and put it down with much gusto. After watching a battle like that the blood in his veins felt like fire.

"You liked that, didn't you?" asked Deanna with a smile. Being an empath, she already knew the answer.

Worf swooped her up in his arms and gave her a hard, passionate kiss. After breaking away, he held her close. "I just wish Alexander had been here to see it," he said as he watched the giant creature in the portal slowly swim away.

"Mmmm," she murmured as she snuggled a little closer to him. It was her experience that Worf was usually much more reserved in public, but she didn't mind seeing this side of him at all. "Shut up and kiss me again." It had been a while since they had been a couple briefly on the Enterprise, but Deanna didn't mind picking up from where they had left off. At least she could trust Worf not to run after other women all the time, unlike Will Riker.

Meanwhile, another person of Klingon lineage in the bar was feeling somewhat frustrated at the exhilaration she was experiencing from watching the giant creatures battle against each other. As much as B'Elanna tried to deny her Klingon heritage, it was always there, taunting her in subtle ways. She took a deep breath to help still her emotions.

A hand touched her shoulder and she turned with a growl.

"Whoa!" Tom said with a slight chuckle. "What did I do to deserve that?"

She shook her head in embarrassment. "Sorry. It just that… Sorry." Then she saw the look in his eye. The look he always got when he was about to try to get her to try embrace her Klingon cultural heritage. "Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Just don't." She caught her father-in-law-to-be looking at them from where he sat at the admiral's table. "Oh great. Your father's watching."

"So?"

"So, I don't want to go through the whole thing where you try to talk me into howling along with the other Klingons while your father is watching."

Tom put on his best kicked puppy dog face. "I just want you to be happy with who you are."

"I am happy. As happy as I'll ever be. And I am happier with you." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Just don't push the boat."

He sighed. "I think you mean ' _don't rock the boat'_."

She smiled coyly. "Sorry. I'm just not as familiar with twentieth century Earth colloquialisms as you are." She pulled him into a hug that he more than willingly returned. "That was a very brave thing that you did there to be by your father's side. I'm just glad that you don't have to go on one of those Borg hunting parties like I did."

Tom stiffened. "I'm not too sure that dad and I are in the clear yet."

She pushed away and held him at arm's length. "What do you mean? That other Q said that the Borg on the next Earth are already wiped out. Your mission is over before it even started!"

Tom saw that the two Q's arguing over something. "I have a feeling that Q2 doesn't agree with that."

The couple held onto each other as the two Q entities argued with each other.

"-so it can't count because the rescue teams never even arrived in that universe," answered Q2.

Q fumed. He had been sure he had just had an easy victory. Now that arrogant Q had taken it away due to a technicality. "Fine. I'll choose another one," he mumbled.

Q scowled at all the puny mortals as he went back over to the red energy sphere to choose another world randomly. He noticed Jean-Luc and Beverly stepping back into Quark's bar. Q was surprised that he felt embarrassment and humiliation at being forced to bend to Q2's every whim in front of these mortals. Q knew that he would never do anything like this to Jean-Luc. Well, maybe he had done a few things, but it didn't matter. Picard was only mortal, and Q was, well, Q. Besides Q always made sure Jean-Luc had opportunities to get himself out of whatever predicament Q had put him in. Q couldn't be as sure that he would have that opportunity with his fellow Q.

Without further hesitation, Q thrust his arm into the energy sphere and withdrew another smaller white sphere. "Let's get this over with."

"Are you forgetting?" asked Q2. "We still have to choose two more candidates."

Q scowled at his fellow Q but didn't say anything. He looked down at the small white ball in his hand and wondered what problems this new world would bring.

A skirmish at the bar drew everybody's attention. A man called out in warning. "No! Stop! You don't know what you are doing!"

To everyone's surprise, two Klingon women were pushing Dr. Banner back forth between them as they laughed. "Change into your other form, little man!"

"Yes, change into your burly counterpart!" called out the other Klingon woman, who had managed to rip off one of the man's sleeves. "We wish to experience him!"

"No! Don't! You're making me ang-"

A phaser beam hit Banner in the chest and he dropped to the floor. The two female Klingons growled in anger that their love-play had been interrupted. Odo, uncaring of the Klingon females' feelings, stepped forward with two of his Bajoran security team members and took them away with much shouting and creative cursing on the Klingons part.

Beverly lowered her phaser and pulled out her tricorder to check on Dr. Banner. She noticed the slight shake in her hands and took a deep breath. Carefully, she pulled back his right eyelid and watched as the light green iris slowly returned back to it dark brown color.

Captain Picard grasped her elbow. "Was that really necessary?"

"I couldn't take the chance. Not with so many people in a closed space. Not to mention the fact that we are on a space station. I have little doubt that Dr. Banner's other self could breach these walls, endangering everyone."

Picard frowned. "I could have him sent to Earth in a secure location. We could get him specialists."

Beverly shook her head. "That will have to wait, I'm afraid. You forget that one of the Q Continuum requirements is that none of us may go anyway except to the Enterprise, Voyager or this station, Deep Space Nine, while this… this battle against the Borg commences."

"Ah, right." He looked thoughtful. "What do you propose?"

She was looking at her tri-corder, but smiled slightly. "I have a few ideas. I will have something in place hopefully before Dr. Banner awakes; then I will consult with him about possible treatments."

"You just had quite a venture yourself," reminded the captain. "Are you sure you wish to handle this right now?"

The redhead nodded. "Yes, it will keep me from worrying about what the next contestants are going through. Plus, he has met me, and I agreed to allow him to immigrate to our universe. I feel responsible for him."

Picard knew better than to stymie her in this decision. "Very well, keep me informed." He paused. "Are you planning to take him to the Enterprise or use the medical facilities here?"

She considered for a moment. "Here I think. Dr. Banner has had plenty of changes. He has at least seen the space station. And keeping him calm should be practically a prime directive, would you say?" she said with a wry grin.

Picard smiled back. "Very well. Remember to keep Captain Sisko up to date of the situation. I doubt he likes surprises on Deep Space Nine any more than I do on the Enterprise." With that he walked over to the admirals' table.

Dr. Bashir walked in through the door of the bar with Garak, the local Cardassian tailor. "What happened? Did we miss something?"

Beverly looked up. "Don't worry, Julian. This one is my patient."

Dr. Bashir just nodded once he saw that she didn't need any help. "All right, I guess I'll let you have all the fun."

Garak just looked at him with an enigmatic smile on his face. "You say that like you would like to be doing the things she has been doing."

Julian stepped over towards the bar but made sure he was facing Beverly and the stunned man in case she needed him for anything. "But think of all the things that she encountered. A new alien species. A lost colony of man that had lived on other planets. She brought back tons of information on new technologies, the histories of that alternate universe. Even a representative from that universe! Oh, if I only had the chance to do half of what she accomplished!"

Garak looked up with concern at the two Q's staring their way. "Be careful of what you wish for."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **AuThOr'S NoTeS: rewritten 1-1-2019**

 _Well, as I said earlier, this is a rewrite of a story I wrote over fifteen years. I've been adding little bits and correcting embarrassing grammatical mistakes. Over all, hope people like it. Thanks!_

 **Characters in order of appearance or mentioned** **:**

 **Quark** (Armin Shimerman) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Q** (John de Lancie) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-?), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager

 **McCoy, Adm. Leonard** _ **'Bones'**_ (DeForest Kelley) – from the TV series Star Trek (1966-1969)

 **Barclay III, Lt. Reginald** _ **'Reg'**_ (Dwight Schultz) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990-1994)

 **Morn** (Mark Allen Shepherd) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Worf, Lt. Cdr.** (Michael Dorn) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1995-1999)

 **Summers, Buffy** (Sarah Michelle Gellar) – from the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) (mentioned only)

 **Bashir, Dr. Julian** (Siddig El Fadil) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Hulk / Banner, David** (Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno) – from the TV series The Incredible Hulk (1978-1982)

 **Rom** (Max Grodenchik) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Guinan** (Whoopi Goldberg) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988-1993)

 **Q2** – a character that I made up that is part of the Q Continuum

 **Crusher, Dr. Beverly** (Gates McFadden) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

 **Picard, Capt. Jean-Luc** (Patrick Stewart) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

 **O'Brien, Chief Miles** (Colm Meaney) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1992), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Sisko, Capt. Benjamin** (Avery Brooks) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Odo, Constable** (Rene Auberjonois) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Scott, Cdr. Montgomery** _ **'Scotty'**_ (James Doohan) – from the TV series Star Trek (1966-1969)

 **La Forge,** **Lt. Geordi** (LeVar Burton) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

 **Paris, Adm. Owen** (Richard Herd) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1999-2001)

 **Paris, Lt. Tom** (Robert Duncan McNeill) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

 **Janeway, Capt. Kathryn** (Kate Mulgrew) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

 **Gamera** – from the movie Gamera (1965)

 **Godzilla** – from the movie Godzilla (1954)

 **Mothra** – from the movie Mothra (1961)

 **Ghidorah** – from the movie Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster (1964)

 **Troi, Councilor Deanna** (Mirina Sirtis) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

 **Rozhenko, Alexander** (Marc Worden) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990-1994), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1997) (mentioned only)

 **Riker, Cdr. William** (Jonathan Frakes) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) (mentioned only)

 **Torres, B'Elanna** (Roxann Dawson) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

 **Garak, Elim** (Andrew Robinson) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)


	2. Chapter 2

**ROSEMONT CONVENTION CENTER**

 **SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA**

 **May 7, 2002**

A.J. Simon smoothed out his dress jacket as he walked down the steps of the convention hall. He was surprised to see his brother waiting for him. "Well, Rick. What brings you here?"

Rick Simon looked down at his shorter brother. "What are you talking about, A.J.? You're the one that suggested that we meet right here."

"Yes, but you are on time as well; that means that something is up."

Rick grinned but didn't deny the accusation. "I'm meeting a couple of the guys I played poker with last night. Three of the guys were a little short on cash and they're meeting me here to pay up."

"You played poker with people who didn't have cash?" A.J. looked his brother up and down in mock shock. "Who are you and where is my brother!"

"Very funny, A.J., but for your information, they didn't run out of money until the very last hand. I had a handful of the most beautiful cards, so I just couldn't help but to extend a line of credit to my fellow players."

A.J. shook his head in amusement. "I'm sure that they were very appreciative of your generosity, but I wouldn't be surprised if they stiffed you."

"Doubt it. We still have two more nights at this convention. They stiff me and no one else will let them sit in on a night of poker while they're here." Rick reached into his pant pocket and pulled something out. "Besides I have their badges as collateral."

"Okay, maybe you will get your money. But tonight, play in a hotel room that isn't so close to mine. You guys had me tossing and turning half the night with the racket you were making."

"Sorry. But you could have joined us." The non-interest was plain on his brother's face, so Rick decided to change the subject. "So, what do you think of the convention so far?"

The ' _convention_ ' was a first ever nation-wide law enforcement meeting to rally against crime, promote stability and safety, as well as to somehow improve relations among the ranks of those on the side of truth, justice and the American way. It was also a part of a campaign promise made by the new president. Governors from each state were asked to pick or have others pick from their home state some of the best from all walks of law enforcement to come to this convention. Even private investigators were sought to come based upon their achievements. While many people didn't agree with the need for such a massive convention at the taxpayers' expense, they did have to admit that the president was at least trying to keep his campaign promises.

The Rosemont Convention Center was new to the Seattle area. It had a nice view of the Puget Sound, but was still relatively close to the industrial and shipping area. There were a total of two large convention halls that could each seat over fourteen hundred people, and six smaller convention halls that could hold seven hundred people at maximum capacity. For the week of the law enforcement convention, all the halls were to be used for different seminars with speakers covering everything from on-scene forensic clues to the more difficult science of reaching out to troubled teens. Everyone was required to sign up for something. There was even a checklist to make sure that you attended so people couldn't skive off. So far, the only real problems with the seminar were a number of protesters outside because their Comic Con convention had been postponed due to the rushing forward of the law enforcement convention.

A.J. almost jumped as a hand suddenly gripped his shoulder. Hard. "Hey, guys. How has the mainland been treating you?"

"Thomas Magnum! I told Rick we might find you here."

"Well, you were right. I flew over with Detective McGarrett and some of my Hawaii Five-O buddies. Hey, Rick, is there any chance of a round of poker later?"

A.J. frowned, but his brother/partner ignored him. "Yeah, I was going to get a few fellows together for a game." He told him his room number. A.J. coughed and Rick quickly mentioned that they would only be meeting there. They would be playing poker in one of the other fellows' room.

"Sounds good. I can only play until midnight though. I got a date with a lady bounty hunter and she says she knows a bar in the area that plays some really good live jazz."

"Sounds nice," admitted Rick. "If it really is nice, get the name and address of the bar and I'll check it out tomorrow night."

"Will do," agreed Magnum.

"So," A.J. scanned the crowd. "Where is this hulking woman of a bounty hunter?"

Magnum grinned. "She's not really the hulking type." At A.J.'s raised eyebrows, he chuckled and pointed. "But judge for yourselves. See the tall blond over there?"

Rick and A.J. stared in quiet admiration. "She's a bounty hunter?" asked Rick when he found his voice again.

"Yes. Her name is Jody Banks. She does part-time work of collecting guys that skip for a bail bonds company. The rest of the time she does work as a stuntwoman."

"Hey, where do I know that guy from that's hitting on her?"

"What guy?" Magnum hadn't even noticed the older man with the light speckling of gray hairs that was talking to his date until Rick mentioned it. And he definitely seemed to be making a pass at her. Several in fact.

"I wouldn't worry," commented A.J., "she really doesn't look interested. As for the guy, you remember him. We saw him on that television show, COPS. He was one of the officers that were spotlighted. The one that you kept making fun of because his name was-"

"Hooker! That's right. The announcer said he was Officer T.J. Hooker. And he was trying to separate some prostitutes who were beating up their pimp. The cameraman caught the whole thing!" Rick laughed as he remembered that the ladies of the evening had turned on the police officer as soon as he got out of his vehicle.

"It wasn't that funny," A.J. said. "Tom, you should probably go down and rescue her."

"Look's like I won't have to help her. See the guy there heading towards her? That's her partner, Colt Seavers. He's also a stuntman/bounty hunter."

"Still, if you want to make with the brownie points, you better hurry over."

"Hmm, brownie points?" Thomas raised a contemplative eyebrow. "Well, I do have a sweet tooth. I'll see you later tonight, Rick." The detective from Hawaii quickly hurried through the crowd to ' _rescue_ ' his date.

"Boy, the old guys are really out tonight. There's another one talking to pretty blond over there," A.J. pointed out. "Hey, I think I know him from somewhere."

"No, you don't," answered Rick. "Why don't we get some fresh air?"

"I thought you were waiting for some guys to buy back their badges?"

"We can do it-"

"Hey, isn't that guy the judge who you went up before for petty larceny when you were eighteen?"

"I was seventeen. And I only stole a few cartons of cigarettes. There should have been no reason for me to have to go before a judge like Judge ' _Hardcase_ ' Hardcastle."

"Sounds like you have some unresolved issues." His brother smirked lightly, at his brother's discomfort.

"You know what he put me through. He had me signed up for work details to cleanup parks and the sides of highways for the rest of the summer! You only have one summer when you are seventeen. After that everybody wants you to start acting responsible."

"Hey, nobody made you take the cigarettes but yourself," A.J. pointed out. "And besides, Judge Hardcastle had mom's full support in the matter."

Rick just shrugged that off. "What is he doing here anyway? I heard he retired."

"I think he's one of the speakers."

Rick groaned as if he was in agony. "Well, I'm not attending _that_ seminar."

"Hey Rick. You been waiting long?" a man's voice called out, getting his attention.

"Hey, Ponch," Rick held out his hand to shake with the California highway patrolman. He also noticed the two other men just behind him. "Looking for a badge to buy back?"

Officer Francis ' _Ponch_ ' Poncherello grimaced, but pulled out his wallet and extracted a hundred and thirty dollars. "Here," he said as he exchanged the money for his badge. "I hope you're going to give me a chance to win this back tonight?"

"Sure. But we're going to have to use somebody else's room to play cards."

"We can use mine," commented New York Detective Andy Sipowicz as he handed over his hundred and fifty dollars he owed. "But you bring the chips and salsa this time."

"Here." Sgt. Lorenzo handed over the money with some reservations. "I should have known better. Private Detectives thrive off of good luck."

"So, are you going to see if I have any more luck left tonight?" asked Rick.

Chris nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, but I better do better this time."

"That's more up to you than it is up to me," Rick pointed out with a chuckle. "I'll see you later."

A.J. watched the three men walk away talking amongst themselves. "Around four hundred dollars in that last hand, huh? You must have won a lot of money last night."

"Yeah, I cleaned up pretty good," he boasted.

"Good. Then you can pay me back the five hundred and fifty dollars you borrowed from me three weeks ago."

"Ah, now A.J., let's be reasonable about this. We still have a couple of days at this convention-"

"And you could lose all that money before you get a chance to pay me back, so cough it up."

Both brothers stopped in their arguing as they watched a very attractive redhead walk down the stairs. Both whistled quietly after she had passed. It was another minute before they resumed their monetary argument.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

"Mulder, just think of this as a vacation."

Mulder spit the shell of a sunflower seed into the cup he was holding. "You know as well as I do that we were sent here just to be out of everybody's hair for a while." Mulder sidestepped around an older bald man sucking on a sucker that wasn't paying attention to his surrounding before quickly returned to his place at Scully's side. "This is all just a waste of our time!"

"Oh, I don't know about that. You see that man over there. The older one. That's Dr. Quincy who wrote my first and second year's textbooks in forensics. And the tall, skinny man with white hair that he's talking to is Dr. Mark Sloan. He was a special speaker many times when I was a student. He really knows his medicine."

Mulder spit another shell into his cup, while scanning the growing number of people walking by. It was getting close to the time when the various seminars were to start. Scully had chosen a special forensics session in one of the larger convention halls while he was planning on seeing what they had prepared for Criminal Psychology. He only hoped he wouldn't laugh out loud, though from what he had heard on one of the speakers, a Frank Black, drew Mulder's attention. It had only been a few years ago when they had met, and Black had ended up saving Mulder's life. He was definitely going to have to get a moment to talk to him. "What was that, Scully?"

Dana frowned. "I was telling you about this CSI group that was brought to be the main focus of the seminar I'm attending tonight. Gil Grissom, the man in charge of the group, and I had lunch today. I also asked if you had brought any x-files material along with you that I could borrow. I'd like to compare notes with him."

Mulder put on a sloppy grin. "So, you're planning to double-team me now, Scully? One of you trying to prove me wrong all the time isn't enough?"

Scully sighed. She had grown to care for Mulder over the years they had been made partners, but sometimes he could be so stubborn and childish. "No, I would just like to run a couple of the unusual things I work with every day by another specialist. He especially seemed interested in the cases regarding insects."

"Is he married?" Mulder asked in a monotone voice.

"I didn't ask. Besides… I'm not interested in a long-distance romance."

"I don't think Skinner would like an outsider looking through an x-file."

"I don't think Skinner would like to find out you take x-file material with you wherever you go like they were your personal library books," she retorted.

Mulder spit out another sunflower seed. Arguing with Scully could be a fun sport as long as she didn't get angry. "Yeah, I brought along a few to look at since I was stuck here. One is a series of bizarre happenings and a few murders at a small town called Wolf Lake. One of the new officers there contacted me discreetly and asked me to come look into it."

"What evidence do you have?"

"Nothing on that yet. I have another x-file that is so thick I only brought the information relating to this state."

"Please tell me it's not another UFO sighting," she said with a tired sigh.

Mulder looked offended. "I'm keeping the UFO x-file to myself. As for the one I was about to tell you about, there have been a large number of bodies found with their heads chopped off."

"Gangland murder?" It wasn't uncommon for some underworld figures to insist on seeing the heads of the people they put bounties on. It was also sometimes done with some cartels in Mexico.

"Almost all beheadings were done by swords, a few by ax or other edged weapon. No body parts were taken."

"A cult?" she suggested.

"A possibility since the specifics of this x-file seem to have been occurring all around the world for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The most unusual thing is that at practically every site, there have been signs of a massive electrical discharge. A few bystanders that were close by reported seeing lightning repeatedly hitting the area where the body was later found. And the neck area on the body also showed electrical burns."

"When was the last body found?"

"Four days ago. About two miles west of here."

"I thought you didn't put up much of a fight coming out here." Dana knew that the rest of her week was shot now that Mulder revealed his ulterior motive for being here. "When were you going to tell me?"

"Tonight. Right about now."

She would have kicked him if he hadn't had that stupid smile on that she liked so much. "I need a drink."

"Your wish is my command, milady," responded a familiar voice just behind her.

"Frohike? What are you doing here?"

Frohike, a short, roundish man with thin black hair and glasses, was one of three conspiracy theorists that call themselves ' _The Lone Gunmen_ ' that put together the newsletter of the same name that listed a number of questionable and sometime outrageous claims regarding government conspiracies and alien manipulation. Currently Frohike was dressed as one of the hotel's wait staff and held a tray with three champagne glasses on it. Dana and Fox each took a glass as they waited for Frohike to answer.

Meanwhile, Frohike was quickly scanning the people walking by in a typical paranoid manner. He took the last champagne glass for himself and put the tray under his arm. "The Gunmen and I were concerned with the government bringing together so many people from various parts of the law enforcement community. When we saw both of your names on the list, we became doubly concerned."

Neither of the FBI agents had to ask the hacker how the Gunmen had gotten the list. Obtaining information that the Gunmen weren't supposed to have was what they lived for.

"Where are the others?" Mulder asked. If there was one thing Mulder could be sure of, it was that the Gunmen would never be far from each other.

"Langly is checking on some of the convention staff. A number of them have been hard to find in the last hour. He's also checking some of the underground tunnels used to route supplies to the kitchen and other areas. As for Byers…" Frohike nodded slightly to his left with his eyes, both agents turned and saw Byers, a tall skinny man with a neatly trimmed goatee and wearing another waiter's uniform, serving champagne to a tall, handsome man in a nice suit and a slightly older woman, also nicely dressed.

"Isn't that Remington Steele?" asked Scully. She saw the questioning looks in both Mulder's and Frohike's eyes. "I only know of him because he was listed as one of the ten most eligible New York bachelors of '85. He looks as good now as he did then." Scully noticed right away that her explanation had only seemed to cause some apprehension for Mulder and Frohike. "But I do believe the woman next to him is his wife, Laura Holt."

"Steele…I remember that name. He was the only one that we couldn't find any history on before 1982," commented Frohike. He made a motion with his hand, a prearranged signal he had set up with Byers, to keep an eye on the man he was serving.

Mulder's curiosity raised its head. "He's a private investigator, right? And a well-known one, at that. And if he has no past, then he must be hiding something or running from someone." He paused for a moment when he noticed Scully giving him a look of frustration. "But why would someone who is hiding take a position that puts him in the public eye?"

"Mulder, just drop it, will you?" Scully asked harshly. "We can muck around with an x-file or two while we are here, but we are not going to chase every curiosity that catches your eye."

To her surprise, Mulder actually looked hurt. "You normally wait to at least hear me out before shooting down my ideas."

Scully, unable to stand Mulder's pouting look, apologized. "I'm sorry, it's just… I-" Dana turned away in embarrassment.

"Scully?"

"I had a high school crush on him."

"You knew Remington Steele in high school?"

"Not exactly." She had both Mulder's and Frohike's attention. Both would dig like crazy for the information unless she just told them. "I came upon his picture in a New York newspaper telling of a murder case he had just solved. I was immediately fascinated with him and began a scrapbook on everything I could find on him."

"Really?" Frohike asked in surprise. "I-I did the same thing with Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Nastassja Kinski and Brooke Shields!"

"So, you both have the potential to be stalkers. It must be nice to have something in common," Mulder commented sarcastically. "Whatever happened to this scrapbook?"

Dana scowled briefly at Mulder. "I lost it sometime after I moved to college. You know how you lose things while moving. And I never started it up again."

"Did you find anything about him from before 1982?"

"No. It just made him all the more mysterious to me." She looked away when she realized she couldn't maintain eye contact with Mulder. She turned to get another look at Mr. and Mrs. Steele only to bump into another man and spill some of her champagne. "Oh! I am so sorry!"

"Quite all right, miss. Unexpected hazards are one of the reasons that I wear a raincoat wherever I go."

"That and he has no sense of fashion," replied the woman on his left with a humorous tone.

"Hi, I'm Detective Columbo and this lovely woman is my wife, Kate."

"As you can see, he does have some other redeeming qualities about him though," she responded.

"Hello. Agent Dana Scully, FBI." Despite herself she found herself instantly liking the couple. They were both older than she, but where he seemed untidy, Kate seemed just the opposite. Unfortunately, she had also noticed that Mulder and Frohike had taken a step away from her and she was almost certain that they were conspiring to find more on Remington Steele and spewing theories about his non-existent past. Still, Mr. Steele seemed like an honorable man who could take care of himself, so Dana allowed herself to be caught up in conversation with the Columbos.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Amanda looked at everything around her in wonder. "This is so exciting. All of us on the side of law and order coming together in fellowship." She stopped to allow a bearded, barrel-chested man in a wheelchair to pass in front of her. "Say, Lee, do you think they will have one of those murder mystery/whodunit things here? You know, so they can challenge some of the officers and detectives to see which one can solve it first."

"I doubt it," Lee answered Amanda. "This place has too many people for it to work effectively." Lee double-checked to make sure that they were not being followed, but it was practically impossible to tell with the number of people walking by as they tried to find their way to whatever seminar they had signed up for. "I can't believe that someone set up a meeting in a place like this!"

"What do you mean? What's wrong with meeting in a place like this? You said it is usually very much to our advantage when meeting unknowns to do so in a public area."

Lee Stetson nodded. "Normally yes. But not in a place packed with law enforcement from every state in the union. You couldn't ask for a more paranoid group to notice anything suspicious."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Lee. I didn't think about that."

"It's not like you set up this spot for the meeting-" The look of guilt on Amanda's face said it all. Amanda had been an agent of the Agency for seventeen years now. She had faces killers, terrorists and mad politicians with few problems. Few of them ever expected such a sweet, nice homemaker of being a secret agent for her country. However, one of her major weaknesses was that if she felt guilty about anything, it was immediately apparent on her face. "How and why here?"

"You weren't at the office when the other branch called and our side was allowed to choose the site of the initial meeting so I chose here because I knew it would be filled with people, and I knew security would be tight especially since the president spoke here yesterday."

"And why at the front of this particular convention hall?"

She blushed gently. "Jessica Fletcher, the speaker, is my favorite author. I had heard that she was going to be speaking at this convention -that's how I knew about this convention by the way- so I thought why not mix a little business with pleasure."

Lee sighed. Amanda's ways almost always baffled him, yet they almost always worked out, too, so he couldn't really argue with her rather unorthodox methods if they yielded good results. "Amanda, what am I going to do with you?"

"You could always marry me and take me on a Hawaiian honeymoon."

"I already married you fifteen years ago."

"Anniversary present then."

"Hawaii?"

"What's wrong with Hawaii?"

"Nothing, I guess. We'll have to get clearance to take the time off."

"Already done. Soon as we finish this mission and wrap up the paperwork, we can go."

Lee smiled in approval. Lee and Amanda were now in their fifties, but had somehow managed to stay young at heart and act like newlyweds despite the high stress of their jobs.

"So what can you tell me about this meeting and this Bob Hobbes we are supposed to meet?"

"I've met him a couple of times. He works mainly for a shadowy branch of the Agency, which is very different. They also hide their more covert actions by claiming to be a part of the Department of Fish & Wildlife. They act more like unscrupulous thugs than federal agents, but they are effective, so they've been tolerated so far. Anyway, one of their agents managed to learn of a secret anti-terrorist group called Section One."

"Anti-terrorist? Ah, are we sure we should be against something like that?"

"From what I hear, they kill anyone they consider a threat. Including innocents."

"That's horrible!"

"But it's true," came a voice behind them.

Lee turned quickly. He had purposely kept his back to the wall so that no one could sneak up on them, yet somehow Hobbes and his partner had done so and had gotten close enough to hear his conversation with Amanda without Lee noticing. The most annoying part was the grin on his rival's face. "You've gotten better. Who's your friend?"

"Darien, meet Lee Stetson, also known in some circles as ' _Scarecrow_ '. And this, I believe is Amanda, his wife. We have mixed reports of her, but all agree that she is effective."

"Um, thank you. Hi," responded Amanda as held out a hand to Darien. Lee tensed slightly, but Darien just gently took her hand and kissed it. Hobbes just grinned at Lee's unease.

"So what else can you fill us in on concerning this Section One?" Amanda asked hoping to defuse the building testosterone in the area.

"Not much," admitted Hobbes. "They are good on secrecy. One thing we know for sure is that all their field agents that they send out are already dead."

"I hope you don't mean that in the horror movie term," said Amanda, while a shiver went up her spine.

"No. He means officially dead," explained Darien. "As in as far as paperwork is concerned."

Hobbes nodded. "From what we have been able to tell, all their field agents are convicted criminals that were supposed to have been executed by the state or died in prison by some other means."

"That's quite a recruiting method. Must take a lot to coordinate," Lee contemplated.

"And the criminals get no say at all in the matter?" Amanda asked.

"Sure they do," answered Hobbes. "Do it or die for real. Or at least do it until you die. And from what I've learned of Section One, their operatives have a very high death ratio. They also have no qualms about killing their own, either."

"So just how big is this outfit anyway?" Lee asked.

Darien looked a little uneasy. "It's international."

"We learned most of this from a British secret agent by the name of James Bond." Hobbes noticed that Stetson knew the name and continued. "Turns out there was a recent skirmish between a secret organization called SPECTRE and Section One in the Philippines. Bond, who was there trying to infiltrate SPECTRE at the time, was able to rescue one of Section One's female operatives, who in turn filled in the British agent about Section One. Bond and other agents are currently seeking to gauge the extent of Section One's power and influence in England. We should hear more from him soon."

Darien nudged Hobbes and made a typing gesture in the air.

"Oh, and they are very into hacking into government databases so make sure not to electronically mention anything about Section One yet. Not even on phone or radio. We don't want them to be aware that we have knowledge of their existence. We can't stress that enough. It would be hazardous to all our health."

"All right, so do you have any game plans?" asked Lee. "Or are we just going to make this up as we go?"

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

"Yep, when those two escaped convicts came at me, I let them have it." The storyteller made two exaggerated karate chops and an awkward kick. Then as he straightened himself up, he had a smug grin on his face. "I was so fast; they never knew what hit them. And that's how I became known as Ferocious Fife."

"That, ah, that sounds pretty incredible," admitted Jarod. Jarod had been the other man's deputy for two months now. Not that he was working on anything in particular. Being a deputy just seemed like a nice chance to take a peaceful vacation. And where better than a peaceful, crime-free town like Mayberry. Jarod felt so relaxed that he had determined that if he ever decided to go into permanent hiding from the Centre, it would be in a setting just like Mayberry.

" ' _Incredible_ ' seems to be the word for it," replied Jim Ellison, an officer from Cascade, WA.

Blair, standing next to Jim, softly kicked him and got a quick glare for his efforts.

"'Course, I was much more limber back in those days," explained Sheriff Barney Fife. "But I still keep in shape," he said as he stretched his skinny frame up and down a few times. "Still spry enough to make most felons think twice about messing with the likes of me."

Jim bit down hard on his lip, and even used his Sentinel abilities that heightened his sense of touch to make it even more painful. Just to keep from laughing out loud. Blair and Jim had just come from having dinner when they bumped into the sheriff and his deputy, Jarod. For the past ten minutes they had been listening to stories told by Sheriff Fife. It wasn't that they minded listening to the stories, just the fact that they had to keep a straight face through it all as if they believed every word of it. And that was starting to become unbearable to Jim.

To distract himself he started to listen to the various other conversation around him, catching talk about an all-night poker game, two men talking about government conspiracies connected to an alien agenda, and others discussing ways to discover information about a secret organization. He found the last two to be rather amusing, but it was the poker game that held his interest.

But just before Jim could excuse himself to go over and hopefully get himself invited to the poker game, a dark-haired man came running in shouting to get everybody's attention. "Listen up! This building must be evacuated! I'm with the NSA! Let's get moving, people!" Some people started moving towards the door, but most moved closer to the new man. On closer inspection it could be seen that he was breathing hard, covered in sweat, and was bleeding from his forehead.

Blair made it to the man first. "Let's see some identification, Mr. NSA."

"Don't have any at the moment," he explained as he tried to catch his breath. "But I can prove it with one phone call."

"Oh, you'll get your phone call. Downtown, that is."

"We don't have time for that!" shouted the man. "All of your lives are in danger! We have to leave here immediately!"

Jim was about to make a grab for the man and strong-arm him to the ground when he caught a whiff of him. His sense of smell felt like it was doing cartwheels as it tried in vain to identify the alien scent that was around the man. Something that just couldn't be of this Earth.

"Can you chance being wrong?" demanded the man. The people around him had him in a corner, but so far no one had rushed him.

"Anybody got a cell phone?" Blair asked next to him. An attractive redheaded woman handed one over to Blair who in turn handed it to his partner Jim. "Well?"

Jim looked at the phone for a second as he considered. "Fine." He gently tossed the phone over to the man who quickly grabbed it and rapidly pushed in the number. "Hello? Conundrum." He waited a moment for the person to recognize the code word. "Listen, it's Frank Parker. I'm in Seattle, Washington at the Rosemont Convention Center. Evacuate everyone up to a mile away from this place. I need to speak to Talmadge immediately."

Behind Frank, Jarod stepped up close, not so much as to try hear what was being said on the phone as to see if he could get some insight on this man with the last name Parker.

"You know Dr. Bradley Talmadge?" asked the redhead who had provided the phone. From her expression he could tell she was impressed.

"Yeah," nodded Frank. "Yeah, we spend a lot of time together lately. Sometimes we even manage to go fishing."

"What's a conundrum?" asked Sheriff Barney Fife as he stepped beside his pseudo-deputy.

"Conundrum is a password, I bet," commented Blair Sandburg. Jim, beside him, nodded in agreement.

"A conundrum is a puzzling problem," commented a tall, thin man near the redheaded woman. He pulled out his FBI badge to show of everybody. "I'm Mulder and this is my partner Scully. Since we probably have the highest level of authority here, we'll be taking charge just for the moment."

"Yeah, right," muttered Frank. "Talmadge?" Frank lowered his voice so that he wouldn't be heard. "Listen, things are going to get very crazy here quickly. We're talking about an invasion from a parallel world kind of crazy. They are called the Borg, but I'll tell you all about them later. First priority is to get the Sphere and get it out of this state. We can't risk the Borg assimilating its technology and jumping through time. Secondly, do whatever it takes to keep the president from nuking the Borg. It won't work. Thirdly, we need to set up a base of operations. Before the Backstep, you suggested a place near the Space Needle. You said you'd know where, okay?" Frank stopped to think for a minute. "Oh, and as for a more immediate concern I need you to get a hold of somebody of authority here to get these people evacuated or we'll all end up being worse than dead. Unfortunately, most of these people are cops who are used to dealing with crack-ups all the time and I seem to fit that category pretty well right now." As he turned the phone off, he noticed a curious, yet stunned look on Jim Ellison's face. "What's wrong now?"

"I believe you," he said.

Blair, Jim's guide and friend, looked up at him. "What did you hear?"

Jim leaned down to his friend so that they could talk in hushed tones. "It's crazy talk. But it all sounded very official on the other end." He looked Blair in the eye. "And I think the guy on the other end of the phone conversation accepted everything he was told as fact."

"We should start evacuating then?" asked Sandburg.

Jim stepped onto a chair and used his loud voice to get everybody's attention. "Listen up, people! We got a situation here so let's all evacuate in an orderly manner! You know the drill!"

"Hey!" Mulder yelled from where he had been talking with Scully, Frohike and Byers. "I told you that I was in charge here! What do you think you are doing?"

"I'm…" He froze as he heard a distant cry of pain followed by the sound of footfalls coming their way.

A side door that lead to a maze of hallways for employees only opened up. A longhaired skinny blond man rushed through and collapsed in pain after a few feet.

"Langly!" Frohike and Byers quickly pushed through the people in their way to get to the fallen member of the Lone Gunmen. Dana was right behind them and gasped at what she saw. Grayish veins were quickly spreading over his face and hands. She immediately noticed a puncture wound in his left arm, which she suspected was the origin for whatever was happening to Langly. The wound seemed sealed with a metal-like covering that she was reluctant to touch.

"It's already happening!" shouted Frank Parker. "We've got to get everybody out of here!" A number of people started looking for the exits, but most felt obligated to do something even if they didn't have any weapons with them.

Mulder leaned in close to Scully and looked over her shoulder. "Is it the same stuff our little gray friends use?"

"No," she responded. "Unless it's a variation."

Langly looked up at Byers and gasped in pain. "Hurts so bad… They're coming… Set up underground. Get! Out! Away from here! I… I…" As everyone watched, Langly's eyes slowly seemed to glaze over with a grayish tint and his face took on the look of a zombie.

"Is he… dead?" Byers asked Dana. On the other side of Langly, Frohike had tears streaming down his face as the female FBI agent check Langly's vital signs.

"He's alive. I think he might be in shock."

"He could have slipped into a coma," commented one of the voices behind her.

Dana was only partially surprised to see Dr. Quincy and Dr. Sloan whispering between themselves. As much as she didn't like the guessing being done behind her back, she was still grateful that they respected her ability enough not to interfere with her work. "I think the state he is in is beyond what we are used to. We have to get him out of here and hopefully we'll find some answers."

Meanwhile, much to Mulder's frustration, Jim Ellison was rounding up a few men to confront whatever had attacked the fallen blond man. His plan was to simply jump whoever came through the side door next. He had a man who had introduced himself as Thomas Magnum on the other side of the door next to another guy called Colt Seavers. Next to himself, he had a Texas Ranger by the name of Cordell Walker, in whom he felt more confidence.

Jim listened carefully to the sounds of the approaching footsteps and signaled everybody to be ready. As the door opened, Jim reached out and grabbed what seemed like some type of rifle. Pulling with all his might, he was surprised when the person holding the weapon did not let go, but was pulled through the doorway as well. Jim was even more surprised when he saw that the weapon he was pulling on was actually attached to someone's arm. It was while he was caught off guard that the Borg drone was able to stab him and inject nano-probes into his bloodstream.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **AuThOr'S NoTeS: rewritten 1-28-2019**

 _Well, as I said earlier, this is a rewrite of a story I wrote over fifteen years. I've been adding little bits and correcting embarrassing grammatical mistakes._

 _I came up with the idea of a convention solely for the reason of bringing so many law enforcement TV show characters. Hopefully I portrayed them well enough for your liking. As I was re-proofreading this, I was amused at the Comic Con protestors. I am going to the Emerald City Comicon Convention in March. I've never been to one before so I am looking forward to it. Well… actually I did go to a Hercules/Xena convention once in Minneapolis back around 1998, but I was curious, lived about a dozen blocks from the place, and had nothing else going on that day. Bruce Campbell was supposed to be there, but was a no show. I was disappointed since he was the main reason I was going. It wasn't a very big convention either. I hear that the Emerald City convention is much bigger._

 **Characters in order of appearance or mentioned** **:**

 **Simon, A.J.** (Jameson Parker) – from the TV series Simon & Simon (1981-1988)

 **Simon, Rick** (Gerald Raney) – from the TV series Simon & Simon (1981-1988)

 **Magnum, Thomas** (Tom Selleck) – from the TV series Magnum P.I. (1980-1988)

 **McGarrett, Det. Steve** (Jack Lord) – from the TV series Hawaii Five-0 (mentioned only)

 **Banks, Jody** (Heather Thomas) – from the TV series The Fall Guy (1981-1986)

 **Seavers, Colt** (Lee Majors) – from the TV series The Fall Guy (1981-1986)

 **Hooker, T.J.** (William Shatner) – from the TV series T.J. Hooker (1982-1986)

 **Hardcastle, Judge Milton C. '** _ **Hardcase**_ **'** (Brian Keith) – from the TV series Hardcastle & McCormick (1983-1986)

 **Poncherello, Officer Francis Llewellyn** _ **'Ponch'**_ (Erik Estrada) – from the TV series CHiPs (1977-1986)

 **Sipowicz, Det. Andy** (Dennis Franz) – from the TV series NYPD Blue (1993-?)

 **Lorenzo, Sgt. Chris** (Rob Estes) – from the TV series Silk Stockings (1991-1999)

 **Mulder, Fox** (David Duchovny) – from the TV series X-Files (1993-2002)

 **Scully, Dana** (Gillian Anderson) – from the TV series X-Files (1993-2002)

 **Kanin, John** (Lou Diamond Philips) – from the TV series Wolf Lake (2001-2002) (mentioned only)

 **Quincy, Dr. R.** (Jack Klugman) – from the TV series Quincy, M.E. (1976-1983)

 **Sloan, Dr. Mark** (Dick Van Dyke) – from the TV series Diagnosis Murder (1993-2001)

 **Black, Frank** (Lance Henriksen) – from the TV series Millennium (1996-1997)

 **Grissom, Gil** (William Petersen) – from the TV series C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-2009)

 **Byers, John Fitzgerald** (Bruce Harwood) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Frohike, Melvin** (Tom Braidwood) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Langly, Richard** _ **'Ringo'**_ (Dean Haglund) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Steele, Remington** (Pierce Brosnan) – from the TV series Remington Steele (1982-1987)

 **Holt, Laura** (Stephanie Zimbalist) – from the TV series Remington Steele (1982-1987)

 **Columbo, Lt.** (Peter Falk) – from the TV movies Columbo (1968-2003)

 **Columbo, Mrs. Kate** (Kate Melgrew) – from the TV movie Kate Loves a Mystery (1979)

 **King-Stetson, Mrs. Amanda** (Kate Jackson) – from the TV series Scarecrow & Mrs. King (1983-1987)

 **Stetson, Lee** _ **'Scarecrow'**_ (Bruce Boxleitner) – from the TV series Scarecrow & Mrs. King (1983-1987)

 **Fletcher, Jessica Beatrice** _ **'J.B.'**_ **McGill** (Angela Lansbury) – from the TV series Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996)

 **Fawkes, Darien** (Vincent Ventresca) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Hobbes, Agent Robert '** _ **Bobby**_ **'** (Paul Ben-Victor) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Borden, Charles** _ **'The Official'**_ (Eddie Jones) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002) (mentioned only)

 **Keeply, Claire** _ **'The Keeper'**_ (Shannon Kenny) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Bond, James** – from the movies about James Bond (mentioned only)

 **Fife, Sherriff Barney** (Don Knotts) – from the TV series The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)

 **Jarod** (Michael T. Weiss) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Broots** (Jon Gries) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Ellison, Det. Jim** (Richard Burgi) – from the TV series Sentinel (1996-1999)

 **Sandburg, Blair** (Garett Maggart) – from the TV series Sentinel (1996-1999)

 **Parker, Lt. Frank** (Jonathan LaPaglia) – from the TV series Seven Days (1998-2001)

 **Talmadge, Dr. Bradley** (Alan Scarfe) – from the TV series Seven Days (1998-2001) (mentioned only)

 **Walker, Cordell** (Chuck Norris) – from the TV series Walker, Texas Ranger (1993-2001)


	3. Chapter 3

**A TANGLED WEB PART 5: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?**

 **By Charlie Nelson**

 **Chapter 3**

 **ALTERNATE UNIVERSE**

 **BABYLON 5 SPACE STATION**

 **ORBITING EPSILON 3**

"So those are the basic ground rules. And since I appeared in a large group of you, it only applies to four volunteers."

Q looked out at large number of beings studying him, trying to guess what he was and what he stood for. As soon as he had appeared, a security force had been called and had their weapons leveled on him. Q found it all rather annoying since he was currently trying to be very diplomatic with these mortals. He had even made the effort of appearing in a white glowing robe that flowed as if an invisible breeze was gently blowing from somewhere. Fear and apprehension was everywhere, but Q felt that he didn't have time to deal with their petty uncertainties.

"Look, let's make this simple and try work it out from there. So… what do you want?" To Q's surprise, some of the guards and a few of the officials all became even more ill at ease. "Was it something I said?" he asked in annoying exasperation.

Captains Elizabeth Lochley and Matthew Gideon regarded each other. This was not how they had planned Excalibur's three-day furlough to begin. Not with a self-proclaimed omnipotent being offering almost anything in exchange for straightening a mishap in another universe.

Before either of the captains could say anything, Dr. Sarah Chambers stepped forward. "Can you cure or provide an antidote to a deadly disease?"

"As easily as you snap your fingers," replied the glowing Q.

Dr. Chambers looked to her left at the two captains. Gideon nodded for her to proceed so she did. "There is a plague on Earth that will kill everyone on it in the next four years. We have also discovered a few other worlds that have been infected with it as well. It's called the Drakh Plague and-"

A flash of light surprised her. Q remained floating where he was, but now there was something floating in front of him that she recognized instantly even though she had never seen its image so large or clearly before. Q appeared to be studying an enlarged image of the Drakh virus.

"Very impressive considering it was designed by puny mortals."

A number of the aliens and Humans in the room began backing away once they realized what it was that Q was studying, not knowing if it was an image or the disease itself.

"Can-can you stop it? Can you save the lives of all those infected?" asked the doctor. Images of her infected sister on Earth flashed across her mind. A cure would reunite them again as well as many other family members that had been separated due to the quarantine around Earth.

"It's simple for someone of my intelligence," bragged Q. "But then I'm basically omniscient."

"I don't care what you are as long as you are able to provide a cure for the plague."

"Sarah," Galen's smooth voice cut through the excited and nervous energy in the room. "Please step back and let Matthew deal with the creature."

"Creature?" Q repeated. He floated slowly towards the techno-mage causing Dr. Chambers to quickly back-pedal out of his way.

Galen's eyes held Q's without wavering. "Who are you?"

"Oh, don't start that Vorlon and Shadow question thing with me! I am so far beyond what they are even more than they are beyond you." He turned to face the two captains. "I've given you the opportunity to have the cure you have been seeking. Do you still want it?"

Gideon caught Lochley's eye. It was true that she was in charge of Babylon 5, but it was also a fact that he had been put in charge of finding a cure. At Elizabeth's nod, Gideon spoke. "Give us a moment to consult with each other about who should go. But, yes, we want the cure."

Q sighed in annoyance, but agreed.

"I volunteer," called out a voice.

"Bester!" shouted Captain Lochley.

"I think perhaps that it was a good thing I was visiting the station, don't you?" he answered with an arrogant smile. "It will save you from having to answer all those annoying question now that you are taking a former member of the Psi Corps along on this little venture. Especially one who still has strong ties with what remains of Earth Gov."

"Hmmm," considered Q. "A Human telepath. And adequately powerful."

"Adequately?" responded Alfred Bester. "I'll have you know I'm considered quite formidable. I rate a P12."

"For a Human in this universe, I agree, you are powerful," agreed Q, "but I've seen much better in other universes where you would pale in comparison."

Bester sputtered in rage but said nothing. He had already tried looking into the mind of the being in front of him and sensed a force so powerful that he knew that if he touched it, the Psi cop would be utterly destroyed. It would be like a butterfly flying into a massive tornado.

As Gideon and Lochley tried to quickly work on who would be best to go before the Centauri or some other race got to the bright idea to volunteer, Bester began working on how to list his own wish for this genie-like being.

"I also would like to be of service," came a humble voice.

Gideon and Lochley looked at the hooded figure in a brown robe that had spoken up. At the figure's side was the Centauri Ambassador Vir Cotto, who was adamantly talking to the figure in a concerned tone.

"No," stated the hooded figure calmly to the ambassador. "I thank you for your kindness, my friend. But I have been off the path for a long time. Now is an opportunity to once again find my way to where I should be." Pulling his hood back, a number of people began whispering amongst themselves at the sight of the almost forgotten Minbari, Lennier.

While everyone was gawking like little old ladies who had been surprised by a note-worthy piece of gossip that they had missed, Lochley took hold of Zack Allen's elbow. "I need everybody who does not need to be here out of here. Now."

"Got it," responded Allen. He quickly communicated with the rest of his team on their wrist-communicators and started to gently herd people out. Lennier and Vir Cotto only remained thanks to Zack pulling them aside. Dureena Nafeel shook off Zack's hand, but he had other things to worry about as he saw a number of ambassadors that had not been present when Q arrived rushing down the hall to try make an appearance. Somehow word of what was happening had already reached them, and they were foaming at the mouth to get in on it. As quickly as he could he closed the door and had it sealed despite the protests being hurled his way.

Lochley let out a sigh of relief as she finally realized that nobody had put up a fuss about leaving. That is until she heard Gideon behind her say ' _oh no_ '. "I don't want to look, do I?"

"Nope."

She looked anyway. Standing in front of the entity called Q was the Excalibur's chief translator, Max Eilerson. "Tell me he isn't doing what I think he is doing?"

Instead of answering her, Gideon went straight to the source. "Max, what do you think you are doing?"

"I'm just trying to get some answers as to why some cosmic-powered entity manages to arrive asking for help and yet also conveniently has the solution to all our problems. Why doesn't he just fix his own problem if he is so all-powerful?"

"Because I am not allowed to go there and do anything about it directly," answered Q with a touch of thunder in his voice.

Max calmly folded his arms and looked back at Gideon. "I bet there's a lot more to it than that."

"Of course there is," rumbled Q, who was getting frustrated that his powerful persona wasn't getting the full effect he had been trying for. True, the annoying telepath no longer seemed that confidant, but the only one truly cowering was the Centauri ambassador that he had no use for anyway. "But I am not about to discuss such paltry matters with mere mortals."

"That is where you appear to be wrong," stated Galen calmly as he stepped in front of Eilerson, who was more than grateful for the shade the techno-mage provided from Q's bright glare. The techno-mage didn't seem bothered by the bright glare around Q's body in the least and to Q's surprise Galen was looking him straight in the eye. "You stated in your arrival that you needed our willing participation. And I think you would find us mere mortals more willing if we understood your stake in this venture as well as some other little details you were rather vague upon."

Q's blazing aura went out upon being faced with the polite ultimatum. "This is starting to become very frustrating."

"Happens to everyone I'm told," Eilerson responded. Lennier merely nodded in agreement from where he knelt over the fainted body of Vir Cotto.

"Matthew?" commented Galen, as he motioned the captain towards the Human appearing being who was still wearing white robes but was now not floating or glowing.

Gideon motioned with his head for Lochley to walk up with him. "Well, first tell us something of this other universe you want us to go to."

As the two captains and a reluctant Q conferred, Eilerson approached Galen. "Just wanted to say thanks for stepping up there. I was beginning to think I might get fried."

"But isn't that ultimately what our crusade has been about?" asked Galen. "To give help to our fellow sentients in need. How could we think we could help those infected with the plague if we aren't able to also help those we share that duty with?"

"Yeah, I guess you are right. So who do you think the lucky four are that get to go on this other crusade?"

The mage seemed to think a moment. "Bester for one. Possibly Lennier. As for the other two, I think the two captains are discussing that very decision right now."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **ALTERNATE UNIVERSE**

 **APRIL 10, 2002**

 **SMALLVILLE, KANSAS**

"Come on, you two! That picnic basket can't be that heavy," called out the cute shorthaired blond.

Clark grinned as he and Lana quickened their pace to catch up with Chloe and Lex. "How much farther is it? Pete and Whitney may not find us if we go much farther."

"Pete's the one who told me of this place," responded Chloe. "And there's a nice clearing by the stream on the other side of that willow tree. Once you see it you will know it's a great place for a picnic and a campfire."

"I hope somebody brought marshmallows," said Lex. The bald young man stuck to the shade provide by the trees as much as possible to keep from getting sunburned on his scalp. Looking around, he was glad that he had accepted his new friends' invitation to a picnic. It sure beat going through the Luthor Corp records again on a Saturday.

"That's one of the things Whitney and Pete are supposed to pick up," mentioned Lana.

"One of the things?" asked Clark as he looked down at the huge picnic basket he was carrying. "This basket is completely full. I have a hard time believing that you forgot very many things."

"Better too much than too little, Clark."

Clark nodded. As they came around the willow tree, he saw Chloe twirling around in the wild grass. The sunlight shining in her hair. Her laughter mixing with the sounds of the stream behind her. Her smile-

"-ark?"

"Huh? What?" Clark snapped out of daze and looked over sheepishly over to Lana. "Um, I'm sorry. Did you say something?"

"I said you could put the food over there in the shade of the tree," Lana answered in a very neutral voice. Then she turned and went over to the stream.

Sighing, Clark put the basket where she said. He also noticed that Chloe had stopped playing in the sun and had gone over to join Lana by the stream.

Lex bent down to inspect the food in the basket. "Wow. You would think it was Thanksgiving. That is a huge roast chicken." Looking up, he saw his younger friend looking at the longhaired brunette and shorthaired blond by the stream. "You know, for a simple farm boy, you sure lead a complex life, Clark."

"What do you mean?"

Lex was about to answer when a grinding sound cut through the air. Both of the young women by the stream were turned around as they looked for the sound's origin, but could see nothing. Finally, a large wooden telephone booth slowly came into existence between them and Lex and Clark.

The two young men hurried over to Lana and Chloe. Lana wanted to stay by the stream, but Chloe was already walking up to the new object, heedless of the danger it might contain.

"Chloe," began Clark. "We should-"

The door of the telephone booth opened and a curly haired man with a toothy smile and wide eyes stepped out. He wore a long, heavy coat with an incredibly long multicolored scarf and a floppy hat. "Hello! I'm the Doctor. I'm looking for someone. Would one of you happen to be a Kryptonian?"

"A what?" Chloe shook her head at the unknown term. "Does this have anything to do with the green meteorite fragments?"

The Doctor blinked. "The kryptonite?" he said, hoping that they had found a common reference point.

"Kryptonite?" inquired Lex. "The green glowing rocks are called kryptonite?"

"The broken remains of the planet Krypton," explained the Doctor all too happily. "You see, when the planet, Krypton, exploded because of its unstable core, pieces of the planet, which a catalyst of the planetary explosion for some reason turned green and slightly radioactive, were scattered across the galaxy."

"And this Kryptonian you are looking for?" asked Chloe, thinking that the answer may explain a great many of her questions.

"The last surviving man from that planet. His parents sent him towards this planet in an experimental shuttle just as their planet was preparing to explode."

"So, he came here as a man?" asked Lana, who was feeling more than a little uncomfortable about the subject. She took hold of Clark's arm for reassurance.

"No. No. As small child. I believe his parents called him Kal-El or Kal-L. I'm not exactly sure on the exact pronunciation."

"Kal-El," Clark whispered to himself as if to reclaim a lost memory. This whole moment was like a dream come true mixed in with a nightmare for him. But for all his fears and apprehensions at everything unfolding before him, he found himself unable to move due to the shock.

"Then this child would have arrived about the same time as the Krypton meteor fragments?" Chloe asked.

"Possibly," admitted the Doctor. "It would have depended on the speed of the craft that brought him here though."

"What does he look like?" asked Lana. "Is he green like the rocks? Does he have tentacles? Arms? Does he even have a face?" Clark gently patted her hand to keep her from trembling. "Is he dangerous?" she asked, the fear she felt was very evident in her voice.

"From what I understand, he looks very much like a Human. You would be surprised at the number of aliens that are humanoid in appearance. That is probably the main reason his parents chose to send their son to this planet. So that he could fit in and grow up in a reasonably similar environment. One where he could grow up like everyone else."

"It sounds creepy," muttered Lana.

The Doctor regarded her. "Is it creepy for parents to want their child to survive certain doom and to try find a way for him to grow up in a somewhat normal setting so he won't have to suffer the fear of being an outcast merely for being different."

Lana said nothing. She had lost her parents when she was very young and her aunt had done everything she could to try make sure that Lana grew up a normal, fulfilling childhood.

"Excuse me," interrupted Lex, who had been studying Clark a moment before, "but why are you looking for this ' _boy_ '?"

"Oh, I hope to seek his aid in saving a parallel world that is in danger."

"What!" This was getting too much for Clark. "How can-how can he do that?"

"Well, he has a variety of powers thanks to his living on this world's lower gravity and the effects this planet's yellow sun has on his body. The yellow solar rays have empowered his body miraculously in a number of ways."

In spite of himself, Clark looked up in surprise at the sun shining down on him. Then down at his hand. He had never thought that his powers had a power source other than himself. It seemed weird to think of himself as solar-powered.

Behind the Doctor, Leela and K-9 exited the TARDIS. "Doctor, have we found what we were looking for?" asked Leela.

"K-9?" asked the Doctor.

The little dog-like robot set its ears to twitching for a second. "Affirmative, master. The Kryptonian is one of the group you were communicating with."

"Excellent!"

"What!" exclaimed Lana. Lex and Chloe both looked at her as if they had both just had the same epiphany. No. They weren't looking at her. They were looking at… "Clark?" She let go of his arm and fell away from him, landing hard in the grass because her feet seemed to not want to work. "Clark? No! This isn't… No!"

"Lana, I'm still Clark. I'm still me," he said in a hurt tone as he stayed where he was, not even daring to look at her, choosing instead to focus on the ground at his feet.

Lana didn't know what to think so she just stayed there where she fell staring up at him in shock.

Chloe turned away from the scene and faced the Doctor. "Then he got these powers from the kryptonite fragments?" she speculated.

"What a strange idea. No, from what I have heard the kryptonite has a painful reaction on him. It weakens him and most likely would kill him with any extended exposure."

Lana gasped and reached towards her neck where she used to wear her special necklace. The necklace made from the meteorite that had killed her parents. The same necklace that must have been killing Clark every time he came near her. And yet he had kept coming like a moth drawn to a flame. "Why didn't you say something?"

Clark just stared down at the ground.

"What could he say?" pointed out Lex. "Especially when he knew that even those closest to him would most likely freak if they knew he was from another planet." Clark nodded his thanks at Lex for being so understanding. "I always suspected you were keeping something secret, Clark. But I had no idea it was something like this."

"Well, I wouldn't have freaked," Chloe stammered. "We were friends. You could have come to me."

"And your ' _Wall of Weird_ '?" asked Lex, commenting on Chloe's collection on all the bizarre reports she kept on a large bulletin board regarding strange happenings that have occurred since the meteorite strike.

"He-he wouldn't have been put on ' _The Wall_ '. I wouldn't have done that to Clark."

"Thanks, Chloe," responded Clark. "And thanks, Lex."

"Lex?" asked the Doctor. "Lex Luthor?"

"Yes?" asked Lex.

"And you are ' _friends_ ' with Clark?" he asked carefully.

"Yes, I thought that was obvious. How did you know my name?"

"Maybe the Luthor family is infamous where ever he comes from, too," joked Chloe. "Lionel has really made quite a reputation, after all."

"It's probably nothing," replied the worried time-lord who had suddenly wished he had done a lot more reading on this subject a number of regenerations ago. "It's just so hard to get all the facts straight while jumping to parallel realities. But now I think it is time for me to discuss what I came here for."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE THE ROSEMONT CONVENTION CENTER**

Duncan MacLeod hummed an old Celtic tune his mother had taught him as he walked to his car. Ever since the building of the convention center, parking had become scarcer. He had had to go several blocks away from Joe's Bar just to find a place to park. And then he had found that Joe wasn't even there.

Since it wasn't Joe's night off it probably meant he was off on Watcher business. Even though Joe had lost both legs in Vietnam, he hadn't let that slow him down once he had found his place in the Watchers organization. He was getting up there in years and he still insisted on traipsing after immortals from time to time.

MacLeod just shook his head as he walked up to his Thunderbird. Sliding into the front seat, he put the key into the ignition to start the car.

His world very literally exploded around him.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Kenny jumped in glee as he ran down the street toward the burning car. He had waited a week for this moment, and he was determined that this time Duncan's head was his. Kenny was one of a select group of people how had discovered, after having died and come back to life again, that he was immortal. One of the biggest downsides of this was that Immortals were also cursed to have to hunt each other and behead their rivals. In this way, the winner of the head received some of the essence and power of the loser. And this ' _Game_ ', as they called it, was to continue until only one Immortal remained. For Kenny, the biggest difficulty was that he had died young. For the last nine hundred years he had been trapped inside the body of a non-aging eleven-year-old body. This being the case, he resorted to what was considered a less honorable means of attaining his goal.

A few yards from the burning wreckage, the young appearing immortal looked around for bystanders, but it was secluded enough that he saw no one as of yet. Reaching behind his back and underneath his coat, the boy pulled out his weapon of choice, a machete.

Suddenly the door of the car flew open and a partially flaming body came out, rolling on the ground to extinguish the flames. When most of the flames were just about out, Duncan just laid there face down on the ground a few yards from his attacker.

Kenny took a breath to give himself courage. Duncan was not someone to take likely, which is why he had practiced this particular method five times on some drug dealers before returning for Duncan's head. Closing the distance between them, Kenny lifted up his machete to deliver the final blow when he noticed three people headed his way.

"MacLeod, I should have as much luck as you. But it won't save you forever," the boy spate at his intended victim. Turning away from the people headed his way, the boy Immortal ran down a nearby alleyway and almost tripped over a drunk that had passed out in the entrance.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Carl Kolchak listened carefully to the retreating footsteps. When he had judged that the youthful Immortal was far enough away, he got up from where he had been lying sprawled out on the ground. He quietly shook his raincoat so that he would look less like a derelict. Grinning to himself, he let out a sigh of relief. He had been MacLeod's Watcher for only a few months, but he had come to respect him in that short period.

After Kolchak's newspaper career had dried up due to people not believing the incredible stories he reported, which were sometimes supernatural or extraterrestrial, he took all of the information he had been gathering and had them printed in a series of books. It turned out that the book writing business was much more profitable and gave him more leeway than the newspapers ever did. While researching for more material to write six years ago, he happened to stumble across a quickening. He watched the localized electrical storm leave the beheaded victim and slowly funnel its way into the woman with a sword kneeling above the corpse.

While he knew he had come across something new and extraordinary, he still had no idea what was happening or why. That is until the Watchers of the two Immortals came up and introduced themselves to him. They had both recognized him and believed him to be Watcher material, and thereby asked him to join. Intrigued, he did so and was amazed at all the information they had been storing for years. Plus, he could write to his heart's content, not for the general disbelieving public, but for a select group that already accepted the existence of his subjects.

It wasn't all fun and games. Carl's first solo subject had been a young Immortal of only five years that had been stuck permanently at appearing twenty-six years old. Her name had been Tracy Vetter, a Toronto police detective who had been shot just as her career had been starting. Shortly after sneaking out of the morgue, she had been discovered and trained by another female Immortal named Amanda. It had been a conflicting relationship, however, and Tracy soon set out on her own after mastering some swordplay. The thing that had shook her most, however, was not her new life, but when she learned of the death of her partner, Detective Nick Knight and his close friend, Natalie Lambert.

She had avoided any strong ties after that and instead moved from place to place helping out at youth centers and soup kitchens. She stuck close to holy ground when she could, but didn't run from a fight. Carl had watched her take three quickenings before she lost her own head in a challenge ten months ago.

Seeing Carl in a bout of despair, Joe Dawson encouraged the man to go back to his duties and this time after pulling a few strings. Carl had been temporarily assigned to Duncan MacLeod, one of the Immortals that the Watchers had high hopes for.

For now, Carl stayed where he was in the shadows of the alley as he watched the three individuals walk up to the just awakening figure of the burnt highlander. He did a double take at first. It looked as if the three were on their way to some costumed party as they were all dressed up in similar cyborg-like costumes.

Duncan turned over and gasped in pain as he returned to awareness. But before he could do anything, one of the three people above him knelt and stabbed him in his stomach.

To Carl's shock and confusion, grayish veins began spreading across Duncan's hands and face as he rolled on the ground in agony. Carl quickly brought out his camcorder and turned it on. Whatever was going on was definitely new and would be of great interest to the Watchers. And he knew it would be of even more interest to Joe.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

At a nearby dumpster, three other individuals looked on at the events going on before them. All three held great sympathy for what was going on before them, but at the same time knew they couldn't do anything just yet.

"Why has God allowed such a thing?" asked Monica.

"We will know everything at the proper time," answered Tess. "But meanwhile we have our assignments to keep us busy."

"Is it the Immortal man or the one who watches him?" asked the first angel.

"Neither," answered Tess. "You are to give guidance of the boy Immortal known as Kenny." She paused for a moment as in retrospect. "And also guidance to any others that seem to be sorely tempted or in need."

Monica just nodded. Kenny has long been a hurting soul who had been in need of comforting and guidance. As for giving help to any others along the way, well, that just came natural to the angel. "And Andrew's purpose here?" she asked as she looked over at the blond angel of death.

Andrew smiled. "I get to visit an old friend."

"And you, Tess?"

"Oh, you'll see me from time to time. I have a few little odds and ends to see to."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **ROSEMONT CONVENTION CENTER**

 **SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA**

Mulder grabbed hold of the skinny young man who was trying to get to the fallen man on the ground. "Hey! You can't go there right now!" Mulder's reasoning for this was very apparent in the number of cybernetic beings coming through the door. Some were clearly not Human, but what surprised Mulder even more was that each seemed to have had one of its arms replaced with a large prosthetic device for a purpose which Mulder couldn't guess. Each invader wore the same type of outfit and had similar metallic sheen to its skin. Even more frightening was that that they all seemed to walk in a zombie-like trance.

The young man that Mulder held wasn't about to listen to the FBI agent while his friend needed him. "You don't understand!" he argued as he tried to wrestle free. "I'm Jim's Guide! He needs me! His Sentinel abilities may be overloading, and I may be his only chance to come through this!"

Mulder wasn't sure what the young man was babbling about. He remembered a myth about Sentinel warriors and their Guides, but that had come from small remote villages in South America and neither of the two men displayed those kind of features, so he dismissed that avenue of thought. His immediate concern was not letting the young man rush blindly into danger. When Jim and the other three men had attempted to get the jump on the drone-like beings, Jim had been stabbed from a long needle-like spike that had come from out from between one of the invaders knuckles.

The other people in the large hall of the convention center were unsure of what to do. As this was a convention, weapons were not allowed, especially since the President of the United States had visited and delivered a short speech there just two days previously. It had also just been demonstrated in front of them that these strange attackers could infect them in some way so no one really wanted to go hand to hand with them.

Colt Seavers, who Mulder recognized as well-known stuntman and bounty hunter, had a large man that may or may not have been Human in a headlock. Before Mulder could call out a warning, a nearby attacker stabbed the stuntman in his right arm. Within a second, an agonized Colt showed signs of gray circuitry spreading under his skin of his arm and running up the side of his face towards one of his eyes. This transformation was much more apparent due to the short sleeve shirt that the man wore.

Mulder heard Dana gasp as she saw the same thing he had seen. _We have to get out of here_ , he thought. _Luckily, they seem slow moving so we might have a chance._ "Everybody, go to the exits! We-"

The young man that Mulder had been restraining suddenly kneed him in the groin and caught him with an elbow to the jaw.

Stars briefly clouded his vision as Blair escaped from his grasp. Shaking his head clear, he saw just as the young man reached his friend Jim. A nearby attacker turned towards the young man and fired some type of laser beam that caused the longhaired young man to fall over unconscious, or possibly dead.

The laser beam changed everything. Everyone who had gotten the courage to face these bizarre attackers while unarmed suddenly realized just how outmatched they were.

"Everybody out now!" demanded Scully.

The two other men that were already engaged in wrestling with the Borg were doing their best to disengage. Cordell Walker, who Mulder had met the first day of the convention, seemed to be fairing best but he was still outnumbered. As he dropped a drone with a flying kick, he turned to face another that just came through the door. In spite of himself, he took a step back. The creature facing him was clearly the most non-Human looking of the bunch. It was easily seven feet tall with reptilian features, one large crystal-like eye while the second one had been replaced with a large red laser assisted lens, lots of large shape teeth as well as a single horn on the top of his head.

A shot rang out followed by another. Each shot hit the borgified Gorn in the head and thus killing it before it could do anything.

Mulder turned to find a balding man with a smoking gun. "Bobby Hobbes. I'm with the Agency," he explained. The man and woman next to him had shocked expressions on their faces and were both looking off into space as if trying to see something that wasn't there.

As the remaining people turned to leave, the strange invaders opened fire with their laser weapons on the crowd. People began falling to the floor, causing the rest to panic even more and rush to the exit at the other end of the hall. Frank Black fell near the arriving drones and was soon injected with nano-probes as well. Dr. Quincy fell near the restroom door. Dr. Sloan turned to help, but was also hit with a stun beam. A.J. Simon fell unconscious into a large potted plant, but his brother, Rick, was able to pick him up and carry him out the rest of the way. Unfortunately, Rick was not able to help Detective Sipowicz or Sgt. Chris Lorenzo and had to step over their fallen bodies. He even regretted leaving behind Judge ' _Hardcase_ ' Hardcastle. The Columbos joined together in carrying out Officer Hooker on a small tea cart that was barely handling his weight. Amanda King managed to get help from Officer Poncherello in dragging her husband, Lee's body, towards the door, and then Poncherello also was hit by a stun beam, leaving Amanda to drag her husband the rest of the way on her own.

Mulder saw Laura Holt, the woman with Remington Steele, become one of those to fall. Mr. Steele quickly pulled her to the side and checked her vitals. Seeing a drone coming up on the man, Mulder called out a warning. To the federal agent's amazement, Steele whipped around and lashed out with an old cavalry-type saber that he had pulled out from somewhere on his person.

Mulder's first thoughts were of the security of the convention center. It was one thing to get one gun in like Hobbes had done. Quite another for someone to be able to sneak an edged weapon of that size. And then there was the fact that some type of cybernetic zombie aliens were attacking them. The second thing that came to his mind was that Mr. Remington Steele might have some connection to his bizarre headhunting x-file. He just knew that Scully wouldn't like that theory. That thought made him wonder how she was doing. He glanced over at his partner and he could immediately see that she had already approached that conclusion. Especially as Remington stabbed the drone through with his sword and was swinging the blade at another.

"Scully, I-"

"Later, Mulder. We have other things to worry about. You get the others out of here and I'll help the Gunmen with Langly."

Mulder just nodded. Trust Scully to sensible even in the most bizarre of situations. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a man with a Hawaiian shirt trying to use a potted plant to keep a drone away from himself. Suddenly, the drone was knocked away by something else.

"Thanks," Thomas Magnum replied to no one in particular.

"Not a problem," came the reply from the empty space in front of him.

"What in the world?" exclaimed the Hawaiian detective.

Mulder watched as another drone, this one with obscenely large ears, was suddenly struck in the face by something unseen.

"That's my boy," Mulder heard Hobbes mutter to himself.

Hobbes had taken refuge behind a large potted plant and was exchanging clips in his gun when Mulder knelt down beside him. "What's going on out there? It's like somebody is fighting them but there's nobody there." There were at least a dozen of the cybernetic creatures in the room now and they were spreading out. Some were stunning people with their laser weapons; others were injecting the stunned people with a gray substance.

"Sorry. That's on a need to know basis."

"Hey! I'm with the FBI."

"Yeah, and right now you still don't need to know. Deal with it."

Meanwhile, the Borg were also attempting to deal with a new problem. A series of red tracking lasers from their prosthetic eyes swept over the area. Finally, the red beams of light from all the nearby drones converged on one spot and outlined the body of a man that didn't seem to be there.

"That looks like the guy that I saw with you," began Mulder.

"Darien!" Hobbes cried out as he emptied another clip of bullets at the drones. The only problem was that the bullets didn't seem to be bothering the intruders any more. "Get out of there now!"

The formerly invisible man looked down at the red outlines of his body for about half a second then tried to rush to safety. He didn't make it. A female drone lashed out with the tubules extended from her left arm with which she punctured him with on the right side of his chest.

"Nooo!"

The cry of denial to the stabbed was quite expected but it had come from the wrong source. Mulder looked back at Frank Parker who had been waiting behind the cover of a grand piano with an old, skinny country sheriff and his much more robust deputy who seemed to have taken charge of Mr. Parker for the time being.

"Kill him! Kill him now!" insisted the self-proclaimed FSA man.

Thomas Magnum smashed the potted plant down on the female Borg's head while the Texas Ranger, Cordell Walker, was kicking the drones into each other as a means of knocking them over like dominos. Both men were being overrun by the drones, and they knew that it was only a matter of time before they went down, when a grand piano was quickly pushed into the oncoming drones.

"We thought you could use a hand," Jarod said with a grin as he adjusted the large musical instrument for the best protection from the drones.

Frank Parker went past the men to the fallen and now visible Darien. He was just about to break the man's neck when a bullet hit him in the shoulder.

Hobbes stood over Parker with a gun aimed directly at man's head. "Don't you touch him," he said coldly.

Mulder ducked as he hurried over to the Agency man. "What's going on?" he demanded.

Parker held a hand over the wound in his shoulder and winced in pain. "The Borg, they seek technology that is advanced and unique so they can adapt it to their own purposes. They do the same thing with biological uniqueness."

"How do you know all this?" asked Jarod.

Frank sighed. "You probably aren't going to believe this but I'm from seven days in your future. Only there isn't much future left for anyone because the Borg were spreading like wildfire. And we couldn't keep track of them because they had gained the ability to turn invisible. We didn't know how they had gained that ability, but now I see it was because they were able to assimilate that guy," he said as he nodded towards Darien who was writhing in pain.

Mulder blinked in surprise. Now he had to deal with time travel as well. This was his kind of day.

"I don't mean to rush anyone," commented Magnum, "but I don't think we are out of the woods just yet."

Mulder looked over the side of the piano briefly and saw the remaining drones converging on them.

"Bombs away!" A large vase filled with white decorative marbles smashed on the floor near the drones. Suddenly all of the drones found themselves off balance and falling down as they were unable to maintain their balance on the small marbles everywhere. Everybody turned to see Remington Steele who had already picked up his saber again and was returning to where his unconscious wife lay.

"Bo-Bobby?" Darien managed to say.

Hobbes quickly moved over to his friend. The grayish metallic veins spreading under Darien's skin made Hobbes want to turn away but instead he managed to put on a smile. "Hey there."

"You have to-to kill me, Bobby." Before Hobbes could protest, Darien continued. "Take the-take the gland with you. Can't-can't let them have that. I-I don't want the world to be taken over-because of m-me."

"Darien, listen to me. It's-" Hobbes found himself looking into his friend's eyes, but they were vacant.

"It's better if he were to die now," insisted Frank Parker, who was pressing some napkins against the bullet he had taken. "If they finish assimilating him, he'd always be a part of them, and we can't let that happen."

"Shut up!" snapped Hobbes

"Uh, you probably don't want to hear this, but those Borg guys are getting up again," pointed out Sheriff Fife with eyes wide with fear.

"Okay, we are out of here," said Cordell Walker. "Myself and the guy with the Hawaiian shirt will cover you."

"The name's Magnum. Thomas Magnum."

"Nice to meet you. What do you say we use this piano to knock some more over, and then get out of here?" he asked rhetorically.

"Sounds like a plan."

While those two prepared to do that, Mulder hurried over to Remington Steele who was just picking up his wife. "Sorry to bother you, but I need to borrow your sword."

The dark haired didn't have much time to judge Mulder's character, but these were unusual times. "Here," he held out the blade. "Be sure to give it back. I've had it a long time."

"I promise," said the FBI man. Mulder hurried back with the weapon just as Parker and Hobbes had started arguing again. "Shut up! We don't have time for this!"

"What the sword for?" Hobbes asked suspiciously.

Mulder pointed with the sword at the zombie-like Darien. "He said we couldn't let them have a gland and we have to get it somehow."

Hobbes resolved himself and gritted his teeth. "Give it here."

"I'll do it," said Mulder, wishing to spare the man further pain.

"I said, Give! It! Here!" Hobbes demanded now with the gun pointed at the FBI agent.

Reluctantly, Mulder handed the saber over. Hobbes studied the old weapon for a moment, whispered a request for forgiveness, and then with a swift motion swung the blade through his friend's neck, severing the head.

Hobbes gasped for air as he watched the red and gray fluids spill on the flood. "Grab the head. That is where the gland is," mumbled Hobbes and the sword fell from his numb fingers.

Jarod went and pointed Hobbes toward the exit, where the balding man stumbled along without incident. Sheriff Fife was about to assist Frank Parker up, but instead the self-proclaimed time traveler rolled over to the female drone that had been knocked out.

"Hey, I recognize her!" exclaimed Parker. "We have to take her with us."

"What?" cried out the sheriff in a high-pitched voice. "Are you out of your mind? Didn't you see how dangerous those things were?"

Parker looked up at the old, skinny sheriff. He had no idea how the man had got into that position, but that wasn't for him to judge; Parker himself had been a burnout who had found himself placed in a time traveling program to change events in history. "Listen. There are people looking for her. Her name is Wade. Besides, she may be able to help us." He leaned over the female Borg drone and began carefully, yet quickly removing some of the components off her body.

"What are you doing?" Mulder asked.

"Removing the primary components so that she won't be in contact with the group mind, uh, ' _the Collective_ ' I think it is called."

"You can do that?" asked the sheriff as he stared down at all the technology stuck to the young woman's body. "I can't even hook up my VCR or stereo system correctly."

"Someone told me about it," he answered enigmatically. "I'll introduce you to her after I meet her." Turning away from the puzzled sheriff, Parker looked up at Mulder, "Would you mind grabbing the sword and the head? We're in a terrible hurry." He empathized this statement by nodded to the drones being distracted by Magnum and Cordell.

Mulder hurried to comply with the request while Jarod did his best to lift the very weighted down female drone. Sheriff Barney Fife helped Parker to his feet, and then hurried over to help Jarod with his burden.

As the others hurried out to safety, Mulder quickly pulled on the rubber gloves that Dana had insisted he always carry on his person. He took a moment to look at both items and to his surprise he almost threw up. Grabbing both, he hurried after the others. He stopped at the doorway to watch after Magnum and Walker to see if they would make it to safety. The only reason they had survived as long as they had was because for some reason or other these cybernetically attached beings were not at all fast on their feet.

Mulder jumped suddenly as his cell phone rang, yet he instinctively answered it and put the sword down.

"Mulder? This is Skinner. We have an x-file in Georgia that we need you on. How soon can you and Scully get out there?"

"I'm afraid I can't just now," Mulder replied in his carefully monotone voice. "I'm already swamped with a number of x-files here. By the way, you might want to call the President, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines, the National Guard and the Coast Guard. We have a situation here at the convention."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **AuThOr'S NoTeS: rewritten 2-4-2019**

 _Quite a lot going on in this chapter. Hopefully people can tell that I originally wrote this near the beginning of the Smallville series. I'm not sure of the exact date, but since Lana's first boyfriend in mentioned as being around, it must be early in the season. Crusade was the spin-off series from Babylon 5. As mentioned in the above story, Earth had been hit with a deadly plague that would kill everyone within a few years. The Interstellar Alliance sends out the space vessel, Excalibur, to seek a cure by looking for other civilizations that may have overcome the plague._

 _The Borg that Frank Parker identifies and takes with them is none other than Wade Welles from Sliders who was captured by the Borg at the very beginning of this story._

 _Hope you all enjoy. For many of you readers this will be very retro as many of these characters are from shows that had not been shown for a decade or more._

 **Characters in order of appearance or mentioned** **:**

 **Q** (John de Lancie) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-?), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager

 **Lochley, Capt. Elizabeth** (Tracy Scoggins) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1998), Crusade (1999)

 **Gideon, Capt. Matthew** (Gary Cole) – from the TV series Crusade (1999)

 **Chambers, Dr. Sarah** (Marjean Holden) – from the TV series Crusade (1999)

 **Galen** (Peter Woodward) – from the TV series Crusade (1999)

 **Bester, Alfred** (Walter Koenig) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998)

 **Lennier** (Bill Mumy) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998)

 **Cotto, Vir** (Stephen Furst) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998)

 **Allen, Zack** (Jeff Conaway) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998)

 **Nafeel, Dureena** (Carrie Dobro) – from the TV series Crusade (1999)

 **Eilerson, Max** (David Allen Brooks) – from the TV series Crusade (1999)

 **Sullivan, Chloe** (Allison Mack) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Kent, Clark Jerome / Kal-El** (Tom Welling) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Lang, Lana** (Kristin Kreuk) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2009)

 **Luthor, Lex** (Michael Rosenbaum) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Ross, Pete** (Sam Jones III) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2008) (mentioned only)

 **Fordman, Whitney** (Eric Johnson) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2004) (mentioned only)

 **Doctor, The 4th** (Tom Baker) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1974-1981)

 **Leela** (Louise Jameson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-1978)

 **K-9 Mark I** (voiced by John Leeson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-?)

 **Kent, Jonathan** (John Schneider) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011) (mentioned only)

 **Kent, Martha** (Annette O'Toole) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011) (mentioned only)

 **Luthor, Lionel** (John Glover) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011) (mentioned only)

 **MacLeod, Duncan** (Adrian Paul) – from the TV series Highlander (1992-1997)

 **Dawson, Joe** (Jim Byrnes) – from the TV series Highlander (1993-1998) (mentioned only)

 **Kenny** (Myles Ferguson) – from the TV series Highlander (1994-1995)

 **Kolchak, Carl** (Darren McGavin) – from the TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1984-1985)

 **Vetter, Det. Tracey** (Lisa Ryder) – from the TV series Forever Knight (1995-1996) (mentioned only)

 **Darieux, Amanda** (Elizabeth Gracen) – from the TV series Highlander (1993-1998), Highlander: The Raven (1998-1999) (mentioned only)

 **Knight, Det. Nicholas** _ **'Nick'**_ (Geraint Wyn Davies) – from the TV series Forever Knight (1992-1996) (mentioned only)

 **Lambert, Dr. Natalie** (Catherine Disher) – from the TV series Forever Knight (1992-1996) (mentioned only)

 **Monica** (Roma Downey) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)

 **Tess** (Della Reese) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)

 **Andrew** (John Dye) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)

 **Mulder, Fox** (David Duchovny) – from the TV series X-Files (1993-2002)

 **Sandburg, Blair** (Garett Maggart) – from the TV series Sentinel (1996-1999)

 **Ellison, Det. Jim** (Richard Burgi) – from the TV series Sentinel (1996-1999)

 **Seavers, Colt** (Lee Majors) – from the TV series The Fall Guy (1981-1986)

 **Scully, Dana** (Gillian Anderson) – from the TV series X-Files (1993-2002)

 **Parker, Lt. Frank** (Jonathan LaPaglia) – from the TV series Seven Days (1998-2001)

 **Walker, Cordell** (Chuck Norris) – from the TV series Walker, Texas Ranger (1993-2001)

 **Gorn** – from the TV series Star Trek (1967)

 **Hobbes, Agent Robert '** _ **Bobby**_ **'** (Paul Ben-Victor) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Fawkes, Darien** (Vincent Ventresca) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Black, Frank** (Lance Henriksen) – from the TV series Millennium (1996-1997)

 **Quincy, Dr. R.** (Jack Klugman) – from the TV series Quincy, M.E. (1976-1983)

 **Sloan, Dr. Mark** (Dick Van Dyke) – from the TV series Diagnosis Murder (1993-2001)

 **Simon, A.J.** (Jameson Parker) – from the TV series Simon & Simon (1981-1988)

 **Simon, Rick** (Gerald Raney) – from the TV series Simon & Simon (1981-1988)

 **Sipowicz, Det. Andy** (Dennis Franz) – from the TV series NYPD Blue (1993-?)

 **Lorenzo, Sgt. Chris** (Rob Estes) – from the TV series Silk Stockings (1991-1999)

 **Hardcastle, Judge Milton C. '** _ **Hardcase**_ **'** (Brian Keith) – from the TV series Hardcastle & McCormick (1983-1986)

 **Columbo, Lt.** (Peter Falk) – from the TV movies Columbo (1968-2003)

 **Columbo, Mrs. Kate** (Kate Melgrew) – from the TV movie Kate Loves a Mystery (1979)

 **Hooker, T.J.** (William Shatner) – from the TV series T.J. Hooker (1982-1986)

 **King-Stetson, Mrs. Amanda** (Kate Jackson) – from the TV series Scarecrow & Mrs. King (1983-1987)

 **Poncherello, Officer Francis Llewellyn** _ **'Ponch'**_ (Erik Estrada) – from the TV series CHiPs (1977-1986)

 **Stetson, Lee** _ **'Scarecrow'**_ (Bruce Boxleitner) – from the TV series Scarecrow & Mrs. King (1983-1987)

 **Holt, Laura** (Stephanie Zimbalist) – from the TV series Remington Steele (1982-1987)

 **Steele, Remington** (Pierce Brosnan) – from the TV series Remington Steele (1982-1987)

 **Byers, John Fitzgerald** (Bruce Harwood) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Frohike, Melvin** (Tom Braidwood) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Langly, Richard** _ **'Ringo'**_ (Dean Haglund) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Magnum, Thomas** (Tom Selleck) – from the TV series Magnum P.I. (1980-1988)

 **Fawkes, Darien** (Vincent Ventresca) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Fife, Sherriff Barney** (Don Knotts) – from the TV series The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)

 **Jarod** (Michael T. Weiss) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Welles, Wade** (Sabrina Lloyd) – from the TV series Sliders (1995-1997)

 **Skinner, Walter** (Mitch Pileggi) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002)


	4. Chapter 4

**AN ALLEY IN SEATTLE**

Ezekiel Stone hurried down the filthy alleyway. The shadows were getting darker now as the sun was setting, and that also meant the fugitive he was chasing would have a better chance of not being found. He had spent a week in pursuit of this fugitive with only the newspaper providing him with an idea of what type of area the perpetrator had left his handiwork. The only thing that Stone really had going for him at the moment was that his prey had no idea that Stone was on his trail.

Hearing what he interpreted as a scuffle up ahead, Stone hurried forward as quietly as possible. Finally, he saw a figure fifteen feet in front of him kneeling over a smaller figure.

Stone cursed silently to himself. _Not another one!_ His current subject had a taste for young children and Stone had had to follow a trail of bodies for the last couple of days. Taking careful aim with his revolver, he called out to the man. The larger figure turned instinctively. Stone fired two shots; one for each eye. The child stalker clutched briefly at the bullet wounds where his eyes used to be as beams of bright light poured out of his being. After a second or two, the light intensified around the body, and then both body and light faded away.

Zeke let out a sigh of relief. It had gone a lot easier than he had expected. Suddenly, he sucked in a quick breath as a section of skin on his lower back felt like it was being burned away. And in reality, it was.

Years ago, Ezekiel had been a happily married man. He had also been a police officer with a rough beat. Life was hard, but they were happy. Then one day a young hood beat and raped his wife. Stone tracked the man down with a vengeance, but the law had been unable to prosecute due to a technicality. That was just too much for Stone. His wife was still hiding in their apartment, refusing to go out, refusing to answer the door, refusing to answer the phone, refusing to even go near a window. At that point Stone snapped. He tracked down the man that had raped his wife and gave the man an overdose of drugs. It wasn't the best thing in the world that he could have done, but his wife did start going outside in the daytime again after she had heard that the rapist had been reported dead.

A few weeks after that, Ezekiel Stone was shot and killed in a shootout with a drug dealing street gang. It came as a great surprise to him that he ended up in Hell. But then he had been told that many people that found themselves there were just as surprised as he was. For Stone, the story was over. Or at least it should have been. Until a hundred and thirteen damned souls of the worst kind had escaped.

And the Devil was practically helpless to get them back. The Devil needed an agent on Earth to bring the damned back to the Devil where they belonged. At least, that was what he told Stone. Stone didn't care. The opportunity to hunt down the escaped damned provided him with a means of getting out of Hell. And in order to make that stay permanent, he had to track down and return all of them. Their only weakness was to shoot or stab them through the eyes. And to make sure that he got everyone of his prey, the Devil tattooed symbols all over Stone's body. Each one represented one of those he hunted. And as he caught each one, a tattoo would burn itself off his body as it was doing now.

As Stone straightened himself up, he heard someone gasping for breath. _The boy!_ He quickly hurried over to a young boy almost in his teens. Stone had thought the boy would be dead, but if Stone had arrived just in time and the boy was alive… "Are you okay?"

The boy blinked for a second as he got his bearings. "Where…?"

"Gone," Stone answered simply. "You don't have to worry about him anymore."

The boy coughed a little as he cleared his throat. Stone also noticed the boy slowly sliding a machete into his jacket. On closer inspection, Stone could tell that the kid was street hardened. Not as a gang member, but as someone who actually lived on the street and did what they had to to take care of themselves, including protecting themselves. Still, the machete would not have been very useful against one of Hell's escapees.

"Anything broken?"

"No," the boy answered quickly as he pushed away Stone's hands.

Stone took a few steps back so that the boy wouldn't feel threatened by his close proximity. "All right, let's at least get you to a place to clean you up." Seeing the hesitation in the kid's eyes, he added, "And maybe even something to eat."

The boy's stomach rumbled before he could say anything.

"I'll take that as a yes, then. My name is Ezekiel. What's yours?"

"Kenny. I'm called Kenny."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **ROSEMONT CONVENTION CENTER**

Dana scanned the area. As people fled into the main lobby in hysterics, panic, or shock, they were met by four of the convention hall's security force. The security guards didn't stand a chance against the onslaught of frightened people as they scrambled by, some carrying unconscious people with them.

Dana raised her FBI badge up for the guards and they immediately turned their attention to her in hopes of learning what was going on. "We have a situation here. We have to evacuate the building and seal off-"

"Hold on!" demanded an overweight, balding man in a security uniform with the name Al on his security badge. "I'm in charge of security in this building, and I'll be the one deciding if there is any evacuating to be done." The other security guards moved out of his way as he pushed himself forward, more out of not wanting to be in the fat man's way than out of respect. Dana was struck with an instant dislike for the man before her who she could immediately see was filled with self-importance, arrogance, and incompetence.

"Actually, I've been placed in charge of security here," replied a strong, female voice. Dana and everyone else turned to see a large, older black woman coming over to them.

"Who are you?" demanded the first guard.

"I'm the one who's in charge here, Albert," insisted the female security guard, not giving an inch to the other guard.

"Under whose authority?" he demanded.

"A higher authority than you are used to," commented the female guard with a harsher tone. "One that knows about your gambling pool that you organized, the bottles of scotch and vodka that you keep in your desk, as well as your verbal berating all those under your authority. Shall I go on, Albert?"

The startled fat man looked uncertain for a moment, then turned and fled.

"And the truth shall find you out," stated the female guard. She then turned her attention back to the redheaded FBI agent. "Now I believe you were asking for some assistance in evacuating the conference center," she asked rhetorically.

"Yes, thanks." She thought for a minute. She really didn't want to send the inexperienced security guards out against the likes of the Borg. They all looked like they were either college students or retired men and women trying to get by with a little more income to help supplement their retirement fund. "If you could have them keep anybody from going back that way," she pointed the way she and the others had come, "and start evacuating the rest of the building-"

"I'm afraid we may need some help with the evacuating part, but I'm sure we can find some help with some of the people here since a majority of them are in law enforcement."

Scully nodded at the idea. "I'll start asking in a minute." Meanwhile, Tess, the now-unquestioned head of security, got some of the security guards milling around her to start acting on Dana suggestions. As Dana considered her options, she regarded the large woman in front of her again. "Have we met before?"

"Not officially. My name is Tess," replied the woman with a smile and held out a hand that Dana took and shook.

The female federal agent's eye caught a glimpse of Mulder, and Dana gave a sigh of relief. She had been worried when she didn't see him soon after she had left. To her surprise, Mulder was talking with Remington Steele, who had his wife, Laura, laid down across a couple of chairs. Mulder was awkwardly handing over a saber over to the other man. Remington frowned at the grayish-red fluids on it and expertly wiped it clean expertly on some nearby curtains. Some people hurried by, blocking Scully's view for two seconds, but when she could see the two men again, she noticed that the sword was gone and that Mulder had a surprised look on his face.

"The hand is faster than the eye," commented Tess, who was watching the same scene as Dana.

"Sorry, he's my partner and I was concerned when I didn't see him earlier."

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, young lady. As far as I can see, he looks like a good man, though he has a few areas that need working on." She nodded to Dana. "But then don't they all?"

"I meant partner as in my partner as an FBI agent," clarified Scully.

"I wasn't trying to imply anything." Tess had a smile on her face that expressed an inner strength. An inner strength that Dana really felt she could use at this point.

"Right." Ignoring Byers and Frohike as they hovered over the afflicted Langly, ignoring the number of men and women crying out in panic attacks, even ignoring Mulder as he started pushing his way towards her, Dana stepped up on a nearby desk and let out a shrill whistle and held up her FBI identification. "People! Listen to me! As you know we have a situation here. Those of you willing to help, please line up at the far wall. The rest of you, please help each other evacuate in an orderly manner."

A number of people seemed uncertain as to what to do. Tess made up their minds for them. "Come on, people! Move it or lose it! You heard the lady!" The large woman began direction the crowds of people with her voice. The other security guards quickly followed her example and began adding to her efforts.

Dana took a moment to survey the people from on top of the desk. At least they are moving now, she thought. She spotted Mulder across the room, and he turned and winked at her. At that moment she was glad that she was so caught up into everything or she knew that she would have blushed. As it was, she noticed that Mulder's face reminded her of that of a little boy who had happily eaten more candy than he could stand.

Looking over at those that were lining up on the far wall to help, she let out a sigh. She had hoped for more, but she prayed that they would be enough. She was glad to see Gil Grissom in line as a volunteer even though she didn't have a moment to even speak to him. She also spotted Lennie Briscoe, who she had sat next to yesterday during a session on Federal/Local cooperation, which he commented was a real knee-slapper. A tall man with a mustache was trying to get a smaller, sharply dressed man to leave with him. Later, she would learn that the two men were brothers who ran a detective agency called ' _Simon & Simon_'. The blond, well-dressed man had obviously been one of those that had been stunned by the weapons in the other room, but that wasn't keeping him from going against the Borg again. Dana was surprised to recognize another man that was recovering from the effects of the alien weaponry – a man she only knew of as Scarecrow. She made a mental note to talk to the agent at her earliest convenience. She also spotted Doug and Joey Penhall – brothers that she had joked with at breakfast while Mulder had been at a morning seminar. The brothers were obvious latecomers and had no idea what was going on, yet they seemed more than willing to help.

Grabbing one of the younger security guards and dragging him unprotestingly after her, she walked over to the group of volunteers that was also near a large vertical display map of the convention center. "Thank you all for stepping up. We don't have much time so I'm going to be brief."

She pointed to the area they had all just fled from. "This area has already been compromised. We don't have any idea what has happened in the other areas, but since we haven't seen anyone else fleeing from any of the other areas, we shall assume that they are still free of … the Borg." She turned to young security guard she had pulled over with her. "Now," she looked at his name badge quickly, "Fred here will be pointing out all the side doors and other access points that the Borg might use to gain entrance, so pay attention."

"Hey, what about fire alarms?" Doug Penhall asked. "That should help other people to know to evacuate."

"I tried the alarms," said the anxious guard. "They aren't working for some reason." The young man, though nervous, quickly began giving the men and women listening a fast rundown of the ins and outs of the various convention halls while Dana took a moment to breathe again.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Remington gently, yet vigorously, rubbed Laura's hands. "C'mon, Laura. Open your eyes."

"Ahhh," she started to groan as her eyes fluttered to life. "Wh-what happened?"

"You were stunned unconscious."

"Yes, but what happened?"

"A bizarre rendition of a 1965 movie, ' _War of the Planets_ '. Basically, an alien group mind seems intent on conquering the universe by taking over peoples' bodies and using them as hosts to further their goals."

"Seemed more like a Terminator movie to me, but what do I know," Laura stated as her husband helped her to her feet. "What's everyone doing now?"

"They are getting out of here. Just like we are," he stated as he started leading her to the exit.

"Shouldn't we help?" asked Laura as she was half-carried, half-dragged along while noticing others staying behind to help.

"At this point, no. You are in no shape to tangle with whatever those things are, and I am not about to be questioned by that federal agent about why I carry a saber on my person."

Laura pulled her husband to a stop for a second. "You brought out your sword?" Laura didn't know everything about Immortals like Remington, but she did know that they had to keep a low profile. That meant not letting people see their swords.

"It was necessary," he simply stated.

"But, does that mean you'll have to-I mean, we'll have to get new identities?" She had come to terms that long time ago that she would never have the ability to live as long as he could. Even so, she wanted to spend whatever remaining years she still had with him.

"Possibly. But right now, I think it's best we get out of here. I'll take you over to a friend's place so that we can think about what we should do next."

"But-"

"No buts. People saw me with my saber fighting those things. And I made quite the dashing impression, if I do say so myself."

"Is this friend of yours like you?"

"Yes," he said as they walked through the exit door and into the early evening air of the Puget Sound.

"What if he tries to…, you know." She made a slicing through the neck motion.

"He wouldn't. He's the original Boy Scout."

"I hope you're right," she commented as she turned her concentration back to keeping her feet underneath her.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Jarod usually liked new experiences, but in the last ten minutes he had begun to wish he had never left the Centre. Bobby Hobbes stood a few feet away, still in shock over his friend, Darien's, death. Seeing that there was nothing he could do at the moment and knowing that the man needed a few minutes to himself, Jarod left Bobby staring into the water fountain.

As the Pretender walked up to the group before him, he could immediately tell the tension was mounting as the FBI agent had returned to get more information out of Frank Parker.

"Look, all I can tell you right now is that we have got to get to the Space Needle to meet those that can help us," blurted out the very frustrated time-traveler.

Mulder had the look about his eyes that told Jarod that the man was trying to gauge the honesty of the man before him. "Are they Human? Or alien?"

"Some are alien," admitted Parker. "Though I am told all of them do come from a parallel universe."

"This is all just crazy!" shouted Barney with a hint of hysteria in his voice. "We got to get the military out here and-"

"No!" Mulder shouted. He looked around at the surprised expressions around him. "I mean, ' _no_ ' to letting the military know about the aliens and/or dimensional travelers that have come to help us. The military more than have my blessing at trying their hand against the Borg, but trust me when I say that it is best if very few people found out about these others coming to help us."

"You talk like you've had experiences with encounters between the military and aliens before." Jarod's comment was not a question, though the man did sound like he understood the agent's distrust for the military and similar covert structures.

"Something like that, yes," admitted the federal agent with a tone of bitterness that he didn't bother to hide. Mulder turned his focus back at Parker, who now had Jarod working on the bullet wound that Hobbes had inflicted on him. "Now, these aliens that are going to be our allies; they will be waiting for us at the Space Needle, right?"

Frank nodded his head. "That is where they are arriving, yes, but they don't know that we know they are showing up there. I'm a time traveler. Remember? They won't even know that I know about them already."

Jarod grinned at the paradox Frank presented them with, but Mulder wasn't that happy. "That means if we don't get there in time, we may not be able to contact them. And if you are telling me right, they don't even know whom to contact here."

Since what Mulder said pretty much summed up everything, Frank just nodded.

Mulder let out a sigh of frustration. "All right, I'll be right back, and we can go. I just have to tell this to my partner, or she'll shoot me."

Parker winced as Jarod began to apply a temporary bandage on his shoulder. "Yeah. You definitely wouldn't want that."

Mulder managed a grin as he turned to leave.

"Wait a minute," Barney spoke up. The Mayberry sheriff was not looking too fearless at the moment. "You want us to go with you to meet a bunch of aliens? Are you crazy?"

"Somebody has to help me," answered Mulder. "And I don't quite trust him yet," Mulder said as he pointed towards Hobbes, who was still staring into the fountain. "Or him either," he said as he nodded towards Frank Parker.

"Hey! Thanks a lot, pal!" Parker replied snidely.

"Wait," interrupted Parker, "why can't you just meet with the aliens with your partner."

"Well, firstly, she doesn't believe in aliens. Secondly, you're coming because they don't know me." He looked down at where Frank sat trying to get his arm comfortable. "And even if they don't know you, you know about them. That might count for something." He turned to regard some other people nearby. "I also need help with bringing them."

Barney gulped. "You mean you want us to help you with the zombies?"

Frohike glared up from where he sat next to Langly's prone body. Next to them, Byers was examining the female drone that Parker had insisted that they take with them.

"Bringing gifts," Jarod said as he caught on to Mulder's train of thought.

"Exactly," answered Mulder.

"But-but-" sputtered Sheriff Fife as he tried to put together something to say.

"Let me put it to you this way," Mulder said. "Would you rather stay here and face those Borg things again, or would you like to come with me and head over to the Space Needle?"

"Um, you know I did promise to get a picture of myself at the Space Needle before I headed back to Mayberry," Barney decided.

Mulder just nodded. He was about to go to talk to Scully again, yet instead spun back around on his heels. "Oh, and while you are at it, bring him, too. All right?" he said, pointing to Bobby Hobbes.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **SARAH'S ESPRESSO & SNACK SHACK**

Kenny took another sip of his iced espresso, carefully leaving a boyish mustache on his upper lip. It helped that he never used straws. Ezekiel Stone was a very keen observer, Kenny had determined, so he felt he had to make the extra effort to appear his ' _age_ '. Not that Kenny was worried. He had over nine hundred years' experience pretending to be what he wasn't: a boy.

"You know, my mother always told me that drinking coffee at an early age would stunt my growth," commented Ezekiel.

Kenny stifled a grimace at the irony as he set his cup down. "I'll keep that in mind," he said before biting into the chicken sandwich that Stone had bought him. It was rather good, though a little heavy on the dill.

Stone was something new in Kenny's experience. Ezekiel had the same do-gooder personality that MacLeod had, but it was tempered with something that had seriously altered him. And that made Kenny curious. Then there was the fact that Stone had somehow fought off the attacker that had gotten the drop on Kenny. That, in and of itself, impressed Kenny because he knew that his attacker had been no ordinary mortal. Kenny had made it a habit to hunt down child molesters as a means of practice to help prepare him for fighting other Immortals. The machete the boy Immortal used on the man that had jumped him in the alley would have left any ordinary mortal tripping over his own intestines. But instead, this sicko just laughed off Kenny's potentially fatal blow and back slapped him into unconsciousness with such strength that there was no way the Immortal could have done anything about it. And yet when he had come to, Ezekiel was there and had somehow chased off the creep. Whatever it was that Ezekiel had done, Kenny just had to know so he was willing to stick around the man for a while to see if he could work the information out of him.

And then there was the fact that Kenny had stalked and taken the quickening of a man in New Orleans that another Immortal, Felicia Martins, had already cultivated through deception and marked for herself. For the past two months she had chased after Kenny across the United States and Canada determined to take Kenny's own quickening, partially out of revenge, and partially because she saw the 900-year-old boy Immortal as an easy mark. That was something Kenny was quite against. If he could get Stone to somehow wound Felicia, then Kenny might have enough opportunity to take her head and quickening, thus solving his problem most effectively.

The small restaurant wasn't very busy, so the service had been faster than usual, which was just fine to Kenny. He hadn't eaten in over a day and was more than willing to eat everything that was put in front of him, much to Stone's amazement.

Kenny was about to take a bite of his third sandwich when a chill suddenly went down his spine. It wasn't his quickening sense alerting him of another of his kind nearing his proximity, but the chill was just as demanding of his attention.

The young-looking Immortal spun about in the booth he had been sitting in to look at the doorway, but no one had come in for a while. If anyone had entered, there would have been ringing from those annoying set of bells above the door. As far as Kenny was concerned the bells were more of an annoyance than a help.

No one came in and no one could be seen out the plate glass windows of the restaurant, so Kenny relaxed a bit and turned to get back to his sandwich, his mind already working on an excuse to give Ezekiel for his strange actions.

Once he had turned around, however, he was quite surprised to see an older man with a large grin sitting next to Stone and staring right at Kenny with eyes that seemed to be mocking him. Stone seemed rather perturbed at the man presence as well.

"What do you want?" demand Ezekiel in a hushed, cold, no nonsense tone.

"What? I can't come up and see how my favorite free agent is doing?" asked the man.

There was something about the man that strongly suggested to Kenny that this was one person to be avoided. Kenny didn't know exactly what it was, but he knew for sure that he really didn't want to find out.

"I'll talk to you later," insisted Stone, with a little urgency in his tone.

"Oh my, is that blood on your shirt, young man?" asked the newcomer, who in reality didn't sound all that concerned with any wounds Kenny might have. Apparently, his intention was to make Kenny and Ezekiel uncomfortable.

"Kenny was attacked by an escapee," Stone said flatly as if that explained everything.

"Oh my, how the wicked will play," the stranger said mockingly. "Someone should just go out there and chop off the heads of people like that, don't you think? The world would be a much better place then, don't you think?"

Kenny choked on his espresso, which seemed to start up the protective spark in Ezekiel. "Do you mind? It's hard enough for me to stand your bizarre sense of humor. Don't start infecting the young mind of a minor."

The man laughed. "But, Ezekiel, that's what I do so well; influencing young minds with new thoughts. It's especially easy these days with all the television shows, movies and rap music. Besides, I really doubt that there is much for me to do with Kenny this late in the game."

"Then you won't mind me spending some time with him," came a woman's voice. Kenny turned to see a young pretty brunette standing next to his seat. Where as the man had made Kenny feel uneasy because of his eeriness and underlying malevolence, this woman seemed to radiate a warm comfort that seemed to call to Kenny. "Hello, my name is Monica."

"Leave!" bristled the man next to Stone. The anger on his face caused Kenny to blanch in fear, but Monica gently put a hand on the young Immortal's shoulder, which seemed to comfort him.

"You know I don't take my orders from you," responded Monica.

The man seethed for a moment, then with some effort managed to compose himself. "And what are your intentions here?" he asked.

"To help where needed, as always," answered the young brunette.

The unnamed man looked at her scornfully for a moment, looking back and forth between Kenny and Ezekiel, finally settling his eyes on Kenny. He laughed. "You're kidding, right? You haven't got a chance!"

"That is up to Kenny to decide, now isn't it," responded Monica.

"Um, what are we talking about?" asked Kenny, who really didn't like being the focus of this much attention.

Before either of the two could answer, a grating sound began to fill the small restaurant.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Lana, who had been overawed by the wonders of the TARDIS, was rather disappointed to see the rather bland view of people sitting down to eat upon exiting the Doctor's telephone booth. "This isn't a parallel world! This is a coffee shop!"

"Don't be so quick to judge," said the Doctor as he pushed past her. "And don't go rushing blindly into situations about which you know little. That is for Leela and I to do." He stopped halfway down one of the restaurant aisles, ignoring the gaping people around him, then dramatically turned around. "It is also for Clark to do. He is much more durable," he surmised to Lana as Clark and the others stepped out of the TARDIS. Leela was followed by Lex, who seemed quite fascinated with the leather-clad woman. K-9 followed behind Lex, partially because of the Doctor's orders and also because the bald Human had shown quite an interest in the canine unit's functions which made the Doctor nervous. Chloe, ever the reporter, slowly exited the TARDIS with much regret as she was still trying to write down everything she had seen onto the small notebook she always carried.

Seeing that everyone had exited, the Doctor quickly took the time to lock the TARDIS before focusing on the matter at hand. Spinning around, the time lord addressed his ready-made audience. "Now listen carefully, people! Has anyone here seen any cybernetic beings wandering about randomly attacking people, and thereby replicating themselves?"

The waitress, Vera Louise Gorman, who had just moved to the area, snapped out of her shock enough to scream as she dropped her tray and then ran out the main entrance, quickly followed by another waitress, Flo Castleberry who was Vera's friend, traveling companion and roommate. The other patrons also made their escape.

"That was helpful," Lana commented snidely.

"Yes," agreed the Doctor. "It gave us a chance to remove the less helpful people in the least amount of time. But I do suggest that from this point on that we all try to be less conspicuous," he said, adjusting the large multicolored scarf around his neck.

Lana was about to retort something back at the Doctor when Clark gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Let it be, Lana."

The Doctor, meanwhile, fixed his attention on the only booth to still have people sitting at it. He was just about to introduce himself when he suddenly found himself pushed to the side.

"You!" seethed Lex as he slammed the palms of his hands on the table. "Did you set this all up? Is this another game or sick test of yours?"

"Me?" the man sitting next to Ezekiel tried to look shocked. "As hard as it may be for some to believe, I'm innocent of all this."

"That would be a first," muttered Stone.

"As much as I hate to say it," interrupted the young woman at the table, "he really isn't responsible for your being here. And he really isn't who you think he is either. He only looks like your father."

"And how would you know that he looks like my father unless this whole shenanigan was set up by him? Who are you anyway? His strumpet of the week?" asked Luthor. The accused father-figure belly laughed at the statement while the woman looked mortified.

The woman was rather shocked at the accusation. "I'm Monica."

"And she's an angel," added the man mockingly.

"Glad you think so," Lex remarked snidely.

"Are you serious?" Stone asked, interrupting the building fight. "Is she really an angel?"

Most everyone was surprised by such a question, but not the Doctor. "In all my studies and travels, I have found nothing that would indicate the existence of angels. I do, however, postulate that-" The time lord found himself cut short by a soft light of indeterminate origin building up around Monica.

"I am an angel sent by God to help provide guidance," Monica simple stated while the others took in her heavenly appearance. Stone felt his breath catch in his throat as he finally caught a glimpse of what he thought he would always be denied while the ' _man_ ' next to him snarled in anger and impotent frustration. Chloe's pen and notepad fell from her nerveless fingers as she just stared. Leela had quickly fallen to her knees and was about to begin worshipping when Monica motioned for her to not do so. Lex stepped back, bumping into the Doctor, who was also stunned and flabbergasted by something both of them had believed never existed in the first place, but at that moment had all their doubts removed.

Clark, being raised with a strong appreciation for the Bible and what it stood for, was the first to find his voice again. "Why are you here? Who are you here to provide guidance for?"

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Kenny opened the door to the coffee shop, careful to keep the bell on the door from ringing. He had heard and seen enough as far as he was concerned and had quietly and discretely slipped out of his seat as only a child could.

"I came here for Kenny," Monica replied as she answered Clark's question.

Kenny, startled, backed away from the person standing in the exit. Monica was there looking directly in his eyes. But the thing that startled him the most was that Monica hadn't moved. She had been across the café, only now she was suddenly in the doorway blocking his escape.

"How did she move like that?" Lana asked in amazement to no one in particular.

"I don't know," Clark answered with amazement, "but it was faster than I could see."

Monica ignored the comments of those around her and focused her attention on the Immortal before her. "You have been through a lot, Kenny, but God has always been there for you. God has always loved you."

"Stop it! Stop saying that!" Kenny shouted as he backpedaled away from the angel.

"Kenny, you have a chance here," she said with genuine concern in her voice. "You can still make a change in your life and-"

"And what?" demanded Kenny. "If anyone put me in the place I am today, it was God! So God can't really blame me for anything I've done! I didn't ask to be Immortal! I didn't ask to be stuck in this youthful body with bigger, stronger people hunting me for as long as I live!"

Monica sighed in sympathy. "Kenny, you-"

"Oh, leave the boy alone, little angel," responded Stone's strange companion, who was now walking up to the youthful-looking Immortal from behind. "Kenny knows that everything is up to him if he wants to survive in this world in which God has trapped him."

The light around Monica faded, yet she continued walking up to Kenny until she was just five feet away. "Kenny has an opportunity here that you rejected long ago."

"Pardon my asking, and I have a feeling I will regret asking," Lex Luthor said, having regained his composer. "But if he isn't my father, and he really does look and sound like him, even if this guy here is rather scruffier looking, then who is he exactly?"

The man that resembled Lionel Luthor chuckled to himself as he turned to regard the bald-headed young man with a dangerous grin. "I've gone by many names on this world as well as others. The title you would best know me as would be simply the Devil."

Everyone looked at him in disbelief, until the man Ezekiel simply nodded in confirmation.

The Doctor shook his head. "Now I've actually met more than a few beings that have used that designation," interjected the Doctor. "And all of them have turned out to be less than they claimed to be."

"Shall I show my true self like Monica has?" suggested the Devil mockingly.

"No!" Monica quickly said with authority. While revealing the true aspect of herself was soothing and enlightening to people, if people were to see the true side of the Devil, they would be mentally and spiritually scarred - possibly forever. That is if they were able to retain their sanity.

"You really don't want to see him as he truly is," added Ezekiel. "Trust me on that."

The Devil smirked at those around him. "Some people are just no fun."

"Don't you have someplace to go?" Ezekiel suggested in irritation. "Iran or North Korea maybe?"

"Oh, I'm just going to stick around and keep an eye on my investments. You know how I don't like them to get away from me, Stone. What's mine stays mine." The Devil looked around the room at the various people there. Everyone's eyes were on him and he was loving the attention. "Now, Kenny, I think you have a decision to make. You can choose the light side," he said as he gestured with his thumb toward Monica who was looking very Human and ordinary again. "Or you can choose the dark side."

"There's more to it than that," began Monica.

"But that's basically it in a nutshell," finished the Devil.

Kenny stood there frozen like a deer staring into a pair of headlights that was bearing down on him. Only it was more than one pair of headlights and they all seemed on a collision course with him. "What if I don't make a choice?" Kenny finally said in a barely audible voice.

The Devil showed a toothy smirk. "Then I still win."

"What! That's not fair!" Kenny called out as he stepped to the side away from the two self-proclaimed celestial beings and into an empty booth.

Monica stopped moving closer to keep from spooking the ' _boy_ '. "Unfortunately, he is right."

"Yep, that's just the way it is," commented the Devil. "I didn't make the system; I just use it to my advantage."

"But he and all his demons will still lose in the end." Monica felt the Devil staring daggers at her as she talked to the others in the café. "The only reason he does what he does is because he wants to hurt God the only way he can. By leading people away from God, he separates them because God cannot be connected to sin. Fortunately, God's son paid the price to reunite people with God. All people have to do is accept the price that was paid for them to be forgiven of their sins. That's all you have to do, too, Kenny."

Kenny's mind began spinning and his eyes wandered around the room.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Lex shook his head while running his fingers along the side of the TARDIS. He had walked to the back of the small diner in hopes of gaining some perspective on everything that he'd just seen. "My father looks just like the Devil. Why am I not surprised?"

Clark regarded his friend for a second. "Lex, he just resembles your father, that doesn't make him your father."

"Clark, he even talks and acts like my father!"

"Excuse me," interrupted Ezekiel. "But your name is Clark and your bald friend is Lex." Stone shook his head. "Have your friends nicknamed you after Superman and Luthor yet?" Ezekiel commented as he tried to ease some of the tension.

"Superman?" Clark queried. "Why would anyone call me that?"

"And how did you know that my last name was Luthor?"

"Your name is Lex Luthor? You got to be kidding?" Seeing that they didn't understand, he began to explain. "Well, if I remember the comic books I read when I was a kid correctly; Lex Luthor was the number one bad guy in the world. And that he always fought against Superman in and around Metropolis."

"Other than similar names I don't see any correlation," Chloe pointed out as she moved to stand next to Clark now that Lana had vacated that position.

"Besides, I moved out of Metropolis and I'm currently residing in Smallville," Lex added.

Ezekiel took a moment to study the three of them. When he finally realized that they were serious, he took a deep breath. "Okay, Clark, you wouldn't happen to have a red and blue costume with a big S on the front, would you?"

"No."

A look of relief went over Ezekiel. "Well, then I guess I don't have to worry about you being able to bounce bullets off your chest, being super-strong or have the ability to fly," he jested.

Chloe and Lex turned to Clark who was staring at Ezekiel in surprise. When he noticed the others staring at him, he just shrugged. "I haven't flown yet. Well…, um, I did wake up to myself floating a foot off my bed one morning, but nothing since."

Seeing that Clark was serious, Stone decided that he had had more than enough. He'd had time to adjust to accepting the Devil. Angels weren't that hard to accept after that. But comic book characters? "Ah, I think that I'll go check on the others."

As they watched Ezekiel go to the others, Chloe, Lex and Clark looked at each other in confusion and thought about the strange conversation that they had just had.

"Where does he fit into all this?" Chloe inquired. "I mean, we have a boy that doesn't age, and an angel and someone who claims to be the Devil himself. Where does this Ezekiel fit into all this?"

"You have a point," agreed Clark. "He was sitting with them so there must be some reason for the association."

"Guilt by association, Clark? I thought you were against that kind of mentality," teased Lex.

"That's not what I meant," Clark said, taking the taunt in good humor. "I'm just saying that there may be more to him than meets the eye."

"Hmm, just like you, huh?" joked Chloe.

"Careful, or you just might get tickled at super-speed," warned Clark.

"Super-speed?" Lex said, as if he had heard it for the first time.

"Yeah, I thought we went over most of that on the TARDIS."

"Most of that?" chided Chloe. "Are you still keeping something from us?" she asked as she brought her fists up in a fighting position.

"No." Clark held up his hands in mock defense. "We just got side-tracked in the TARDIS once Chloe got her hands on that diary of the Doctor's. He was rather miffed about that."

"You can't exactly blame me for that," the young woman said. "It was the reporter in me. Besides how could he just leave something with the words _500-Year Diary_ on it laying about and not expect someone to be curious enough to read it? Also, there was some pretty incredible stuff in there" She saw the amusement in Clark's eyes and knew she had to change the subject or say something she didn't have enough courage yet to say to him. To her left, Lex looked deep in thought, so she opted for misdirection. "What are you thinking about now, Lex?"

"Hmm? Well, the super-speed comment. It kind of got me to thinking about a few things. With the super-strength and everything else people could consider you a ' _superman_ '."

"I hope not," Clark said. "I've always wanted everybody to think of me just like everyone else. You know, so I could belong."

Chloe bit her lip in thought for a moment. "I don't think that's where Lex was going with that thought, Clark."

"Then what do you mean?"

The bald-man turned to regard the TARDIS again but spoke to his companions. "That man Ezekiel, he knew my name and he put it in reference to somebody called-"

" ' _Superman_ '," finished Chloe.

"And you think that refers to me?" The teenage Kryptonian shook his head. "I really don't see myself ever using such a corny name."

Chloe nodded in agreement. "Besides, Lex, this is a parallel universe. You can't expect references in this universe to line up with those in our own."

"Yes," Luthor admitted. "But they are very similar. Even to the same language and culture. And the Doctor warned us that the myths in one world may, to an extent, be reality in another and vice versa."

"So you're saying I could be this ' _Superman_ ' character one day?"

"Worse," stated Lex. "Ezekiel also said that you and I would be enemies. If what he is saying is true, then you and I are destined to fight against each other in the future." He used a handkerchief to dust off one of the grooves of the TARDIS. "Besides, if I am destined to be the worst villain in the world it only makes sense that my dad looks just like the Devil himself."

The three young people stood there in silence as they thought about the ramifications of everything that had just been said.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

The two angels, one fallen and the other still holy, stood silently staring at each other on either side of Kenny. Kenny, for his part, just sat there as he thought through his long life and the things the two angels had said to him. Just a little ways away, the timelord known simply as the Doctor sipped at a cup of tea he had poured for himself as he sat watching the now silent drama before him and contemplated the reality of the situation. Lana sat on the floor with Leela and K-9. The young farm girl listened in wonder to Leela telling of her past adventurers with the Doctor while she awkwardly petted K-9, who seemed to like the attention.

The bell of the small diner rang as an older man hurried in and past everyone. "Pardon me!" exclaimed the man as his eyes darted around the place. "I just need a phone. My cell phone isn't working and-ah!" he exclaimed as his eyes fell upon the TARDIS.

"I'm afraid that that won't work for what you are attempting to use it for," responded the Doctor from where he was sitting. He wasn't worried about anyone getting inside since he had locked it, but he still didn't particularly like the idea of someone messing around with the outside of the TARDIS. It was already annoying and slightly worrying that Luthor seemed to have taken a strong interest in it.

"There's a phone here," called Lana who had reached over the counter and set a telephone down for the newcomer.

"Thanks," as he turned away from the rather odd looking antique British phone booth. As he reached for the phone he startled in recognition. "Kenny?"

Kenny, the one in question, looked up in surprise. He wasn't used to people recognizing him. As a matter of fact, he spent a great deal of his time traveling just so that wouldn't happen. "Who are you?"

"Ahhh, no. No, I mistook you for someone else," replied the man as he hurried quickly for the door. Unfortunately, someone was already there blocking his exit.

The Devil smiled in the man's face. "That's not exactly true, now, is it, Mr. Kolchak. I believe you wrote a thirty-page paper theorizing on how Kenny had been able to survive as long as he has in the ' _game_ '. As a matter of fact, the people that you work for have only known of Kenny's existence for the last four hundred years, but you theorized that he had lived twice that long." The fallen angel smiled at Carl's look of surprise. "You'll be happy to know that Kenny will be nine hundred in eleven more years."

"He will? How do you-" asked the old newshound. "I mean, I have no idea what you are talking about." Kolchak moved around the man in order to make another move for the door only to find Kenny there blocking his way.

"How do you know about me?" demanded the youngish looking boy.

Carl didn't falter now. His Watcher training kicked in and he denied everything. "I already said I didn't know you!"

Kenny had his machete out before Carl could even blink. "Why don't I believe you?"

"Kenny," Monica called out. "You really should think about this. You don't want to do something you'll regret."

"Bah, don't listen to her, Kenny," snarled the Devil. "You know what you have to do when something threatens your survival."

Carl backed away from his diminutive threat with his hands held up. "Listen, I don't know what the problem is here, but I'm really not a threat to you or anybody. Really!" The Watchers organization that Carl Kolchak had joined, as a rule, didn't carry weapons, which was a rule that Carl was regretting at the moment.

A figure quickly put himself between Carl and Kenny. "Kenny, put the weapon away, now," insisted Ezekiel.

Kenny frowned. He'd had more revelation and interaction with people in the last hour than he had had in a hundred years. It made him feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. And Kenny didn't like feeling vulnerable. "I want to know how he knows me, and I want to know now!" He tightened his grip on the handle of his weapon and did a quick cut through the air so that everyone would know that he was both serious and capable.

Monica's voice reached out again. "Kenny, he belongs to a long line of historians that call themselves the Watchers. They secretly follow and record the lives of Immortals like yourselves to preserve it in writing so that future generations can know all that your kind did and went through as they seek the prize. As a rule, they do not interact."

"And what is the prize?" Kenny asked. "What is it that the final Immortal, the damned winner of all these headhunting battles supposed to get to justify all these long years of suffering? What?"

"I don't know," Monica simply said. "That has not yet been revealed to me."

Kenny turned his attention back to the Watcher before him. "You've been following me? For how long?"

Carl was confused. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew his cover was blown. And to a room of about nine or ten people. Damn. "Me? I'm an old man. My superiors wouldn't place somebody like me on someone who ducks and runs for cover as much as you do. You're always on the move."

Kenny's eyes darted out to the windows of the diner. "Then who is following me?"

"No one at the moment, Kenny," Monica revealed. "You lost your Watcher seven days ago in the Pike's Place fish market after you picked that business man's wallet and ran."

"You know about that? How?"

"God knows everything, Kenny."

"Wish I had known that that guy had had so little cash on him. I wouldn't have bothered to steal his wallet then." He finally relaxed his grip on his machete and looked over at Monica again. "Why are you trying so hard to save me anyway?"

"Because you can be saved," she simply replied with a warm smile.

"Um, excuse me," interrupted Ezekiel. "I know it's a little, uh, late, but can you do something for me, too?" Ezekiel's eyes shown of desperation.

The Devil laughed loud and boisterously for a moment before gently hitting Stone in the shoulder. "Stone, you know your warranty has already expired. It expired the same time you did," he pointed out with merriment in his voice.

Stone's jaw clenched, but his eyes remained fixed on Monica's, imploring her.

"Wait a minute," came a voice from the back of the diner. Lex and the others made their way up to all the activity. "Are you saying that Ezekiel is dead?"

"Yep," nodded the Devil. "Dead as a doornail, but currently running around with you living, breathing types to do a few personal errands for me."

"You're dead?" Kenny asked in amazement, temporarily forgetting his own situation.

"I-I was married, and a cop…"

"And has been a resident in Hell for a few years," continued the Devil. "And since that is his lot, he cannot gain access to heaven."

"True," agree Monica. "That is until he was let out of Hell."

"What?!" cried the Devil, turning on the angel.

"You let him out and put him among the living again," explained Monica. "That makes Ezekiel Stone open to the possibility of redemption."

"What's going on here?" Carl asked in confusion while the Devil fumed.

Lana quietly sat the Watcher on one of the barstools and poured him a cup of coffee. "Don't interrupt when people are talking. It's rude. You claim to be a Watcher, so watch."

The Devil glared at Monica. "You, one little angel, expect to best me out of two souls? I don't think so!"

Monica shook her head. "I told you before. I'm here for Kenny."

"But what about me?" asked Ezekiel. "You just said I had a chance at Heaven. Am I supposed to work this all out myself? With him against me?"

"For this kind of situation, you do need a heavenly angel to help you work things through. But I am unable to help you at this time because I am assigned to Kenny." The Devil started to laugh but Monica continued. "There has been an angel assigned to you, however, and I believe he has just arrived."

The bell on the door rang out again as two more people entered. One was a gruff looking man with a graying beard and wearing a baseball cap who eyed everyone in the place, especially Kenny who was taking the moment to slide his machete back into his jacket. The second man looked a little friendlier. He wore a brown leather jacket, blue jeans and a warm smile.

"Hello everyone. My name is Jonathan and my friend here is Mark Gordon. I'm looking for an Ezekiel Stone."

A stunned silence filled the small café until Ezekiel slowly raised his hand.

"Don't think it's that easy," chuckled the Devil, as he walked over to Stone and lowered the deceased detective's upraised arm. With eyes of fire, he regarded the new angel. "I don't give up what is mine easily, Jonathan. I won't just let you take him from me. You or your mortal sidekick."

Mark looked a little angry and was about to retort but Jonathan "No, I don't expect you will," commented Jonathan. "And I will be working solo this time. Mark has an assignment of his own."

The aforementioned Mark looked at his friend in surprise. "I do? The ' _boss_ ' has an assignment for me?"

"Don't be so surprised," said the amused angel to his mortal companion. Mark had taken to traveling with Jonathan for several years now. He was a retired cop, but was happy to do a new kind of work that resulted in better results, usually that surprised and amazed him, not to mention leaving him in wonder. Jonathan grinned and patted Mark on the shoulder. "All you have to do is spend some time with one of the people here and do some listening and talking."

"And everybody here knows why we are here?" Mark asked in surprise.

"Yes, Monica let them in on all that just before we came in. But don't worry," Jonathan said as he pointed up. "God said it was okay."

"All right then." Gordon rubbed his hands together in eager anticipation. "Who is the lucky guy," he said as he looked around the room. "Or lady," he amended after seeing a few of the opposite gender in the room.

Monica stepped forward. "Mark, it's been a while, but you look good."

"Heh! A few more gray hairs but none the worse for wear," he answered with a grin.

"Good," said the female angel. "Now, I'd like you to meet someone who has recently come from far away." She led him past the Devil and the Doctor, both of whom seemed very interested in what she was doing. "Mark, I'd like you to meet Lex. Lex, this is Mark. God would like you to spend some time with Mark, Lex."

Lex didn't seem too happy with the deal. "You're kidding, right? I thought we were brought here to fight some mind-controlling cyborgs; not for some religious moments to straighten out my life."

"Lex," Clark began. Clark new from experience that Lex could be very obstinate when he wanted to be. And this was definitely the wrong time for that.

"Clark, you may have been raised in a good God-loving family that took you to church every Sunday, but I was raised differently. My father showed me the weakness that-" The words caught in his throat as his eyes saw the Devil just two booths away smiling broadly at him.

"On the other hand," Lex began again with a little tremble mustered with determination in his voice, "maybe I should give that old-time religion a shot."

"That's the spirit!" Mark grabbed hold of Lex's hand and began pumping it. "And just call me Mark. Or Mr. Gordon, if you like."

"Uh, yeah. I'm just Lex. Lex Luthor."

"What? Fer real? Like the super-villain that always fights Superman in the comic books?"

Lex grimaced. "Exactly."

Carl Kolchak cleared his voice. "Uh, I really don't know what's all going on here, but is it all right if I use the phone now?"

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod groaned as his head began clearing from whatever had happened to him. The last thing he clearly remembered was getting into his '73 Mustang, turning the key and then everything blowing up in his face. Then the next thing he knew there were these weird looking people standing over him and one of them stabbed him.

The four hundred-year-old Immortal went to touch his aching head and realized something important: he was being restrained.

He immediately stopped moving and took a few breaths. Listening carefully, he could detect movement near him from all areas around him. Discretely, he peered out the slits of his eyes and waited for them to adjust to the light of the room.

Off to the side of him, Duncan saw other people laying down on desks and makeshift cots in a neat line of about a dozen. These horizontal people all seemed awake because their eyes were wide open but unblinking. Their skin had a horrible grayish-color to it with cable-like veins that were visible in areas. At first, he thought they might be dead, until he noticed the slow rise and fall of their chests.

When he could see more clearly, he saw that the room he was in was in the midst of some sort of transformation. A bulky man in strange black clothing -the same clothing that his earlier attackers had worn- was wheeling in a Coke machine that had been partially gutted and stuffed with other mechanical parts. Another man in black was unloading a cart of plumbing tools, light bulbs, rubber gloves and various other miscellaneous items onto a white platform that seemed to absorb anything placed there. A cable connected to the white platform led to a large black box. Another cable left the black box and went to another white platform that hummed as it lit up briefly. To Duncan's surprise, a small device formed there out of thin air.

The device was picked up by a heavyset older woman -also dressed in black- who also had a red beam of light coming from where her left eye should have been. The woman slowly made her way over next to where Duncan lay. Instead of focusing on Duncan, she turned to the Hispanic man that lay next to him.

Duncan, continuing to act unconscious, squinted through his eyelids as he watched the large woman lower the device into the Hispanic man's eye until it sunk in and the entire eye was covered. When the woman stepped away, the Immortal was able to see that the man had a red light coming out of the device in the exact same way that the woman had.

Unfortunately, Duncan's awareness did not go undetected. The heavyset woman now stared down at him with one normal eye and one red beam of light. "You have resisted assimilation. Your biological structure is Human, yet your regenerative abilities are similar to those of Species 8472. Your uniqueness and that of Species 8472 will be added to the collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated." Having had her say without asking Duncan anything, two long metallic needles came out of her hand and she immediately stabbed MacLeod in his chest.

Duncan spent the next minute screaming until oblivion claimed him as metallic veins spread throughout his body.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **AuThOr'S NoTeS: rewritten 3-5-2019**

 _This chapter is mostly focused on introducing the inclusion of the television shows 'Touched by an Angel', 'Highway to Heaven' and 'Brimstone'. I rather liked the interaction between Monica and the Devil. Monica will be focusing on Kenny the young Immortal. Jonathan will be working with the once condemned soul Ezekiel. And that leaves the gruff Mark talking with Lex Luthor. I don't think there was ever a crossover to touch on these matters, so I wanted to address that._

 _I wanted to get back to more of what was happening with the Borg, but this chapter was getting too long. Not to worry, the fighting will resume in earnest in the next chapter._

 **Characters in order of appearance or mentioned** **:**

 **Stone, Ezekiel** _ **'Zeke'**_ (Peter Horton) – from the TV series Brimstone (1998-1999)

 **The Devil** (John Glover) – from the TV series Brimstone (1998-1999)

 **Kenny** (Myles Ferguson) – from the TV series Highlander (1994-1995)

 **Scully, Dana** (Gillian Anderson) – from the TV series X-Files (1993-2002)

 **Tess** (Della Reese) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)

 **Mulder, Fox** (David Duchovny) – from the TV series X-Files (1993-2002)

 **Steele, Remington** (Pierce Brosnan) – from the TV series Remington Steele (1982-1987)

 **Holt, Laura** (Stephanie Zimbalist) – from the TV series Remington Steele (1982-1987)

 **Byers, John Fitzgerald** (Bruce Harwood) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Frohike, Melvin** (Tom Braidwood) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Langly, Richard** _ **'Ringo'**_ (Dean Haglund) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Grissom, Gil** (William Petersen) – from the TV series C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-2009)

 **Briscoe, Det. Leonard** _ **'Lennie'**_ (Jerry Orbach) – from the TV series Law & Order (1992-2004)

 **Simon, A.J.** (Jameson Parker) – from the TV series Simon & Simon (1981-1988)

 **Simon, Rick** (Gerald Raney) – from the TV series Simon & Simon (1981-1988)

 **Stetson, Lee** _ **'Scarecrow'**_ (Bruce Boxleitner) – from the TV series Scarecrow & Mrs. King (1983-1987)

 **Penhall, Doug** (Peter DeLuise) – from the TV series 21 Jump Street (1987-1992)

 **Penhall, Joey** (Michael DeLuise) – from the TV series 21 Jump Street (1987-1992)

 **Jarod** (Michael T. Weiss) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Hobbes, Agent Robert '** _ **Bobby**_ **'** (Paul Ben-Victor) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Fawkes, Darien** (Vincent Ventresca) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Parker, Lt. Frank** (Jonathan LaPaglia) – from the TV series Seven Days (1998-2001)

 **Fife, Sherriff Barney** (Don Knotts) – from the TV series The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)

 **MacLeod, Duncan** (Adrian Paul) – from the TV series Highlander (1992-1997)

 **Martins, Felicia** (Joan Jett) – from the TV series Highlander (1995) (mentioned only)

 **Monica** (Roma Downey) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)

 **Lang, Lana** (Kristin Kreuk) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2009)

 **Doctor, The 4th** (Tom Baker) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1974-1981)

 **Leela** (Louise Jameson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-1978)

 **Kent, Clark Jerome / Kal-El** (Tom Welling) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **K-9 Mark I** (voiced by John Leeson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-?)

 **Luthor, Lex** (Michael Rosenbaum) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Sullivan, Chloe** (Allison Mack) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Gorman, Vera Louise** (Beth Howland) – from the TV series Alice (1976-1985)

 **Castleberry, Florence '** _ **Flo**_ **'** (Polly Holliday) – from the TV series Alice (1976-1985)

 **Kolchak, Carl** (Darren McGavin) – from the TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1984-1985)

 **Smith, Jonathan** (Michael Landon) – from the TV series Highway to Heaven (1984-1989)

 **Gordon, Mark** (Victor French) – from the TV series Highway to Heaven (1984-1989)


	5. Chapter 5

**A TANGLED WEB PART 5: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?**

 **By Charlie Nelson**

 **Chapter 5**

 **THE SPACE NEEDLE**

"It's just like it was before the Eugenics War. Still standing tall and proud." Guinan twirled around in her purple El-Aurian dress as she took in the near-twilight urban landscape. She laughed out loud at the looks her comrades were giving her. "What?" she grinned.

"Do you realize how ridiculous you look?" Q stood there in his Starfleet admiral's uniform while tapping his foot.

Guinan's glare stilled the Q from any further comments. The Starfleet team and the team from Babylon Five felt the awkward tension.

Garak tilted his head to the left and the right as if checking out his surroundings. "No sign of the Borg as far as I can see," he said as a means of light levity, as well as to bring everyone's attention back to the subject at hand.

"Yes, now, Q," began Admiral Paris. Q literally flashed the admiral a smile that the admiral found unsettling, but knew he had to continue even if it meant facing the unpredictability of Q. "What about that Doctor fellow and the team he was recruiting?"

"What about them?" Q said with a superior snort. "I'm a Q, not a travel agent."

In the background, Scotty guffawed in amusement. Though the legendary engineer had found it funny, the admiral was not amused. "Don't you think it would be better if we concentrated our efforts as a larger group to be more effective."

Q held up his hand in mock disdain. "I am not responsible for the Time Lord. He is an independent agent and that is why he is allowed to do everything that he does," Q explained in exaggerated frustration. "I may have to supply the payment for whoever he scrapes together, but I am not allowed to have other contact with him. Otherwise my fellow Q, Q2, would claim we are conspiring beyond what the Continuum is allowing. I thought you'd know all this since you were there when it was all set up."

Admiral Owen Paris flustered a bit. His son, Tom, stepped up to him, but the admiral waved him back. The admiral looked over to the mysterious Guinan, which was useless as she was keeping herself distracted pointing out the local sites to the Cardassian that had been brought along. "Q, the Doctor seems to have a habit of just… bungling about."

Q shook his head. "That is just so typical of Starfleet of your time. You make great praise for the former groundbreakers of yesterday like Archer and Kirk who similarly went ' _bungling about_ ', yet there is no way that someone of that spirit would be allowed to pass through your precious academy now." He through up his hands in mock surrender. "I can see why someone of your limited intelligence would think that way."

"Q, get to the point," Guinan said, sparing some of her attention to the admiral and Q.

"The point is," Q stated, "that I've done some looking into the good Doctor's background and have found him to have made very good practical use of his ' _bungling_ '. Mostly because he wasn't hampered by the almighty rules and regulations of current Starfleet administration."

An immediate argument built up between Q and Admiral Paris with Tom Paris trying to act as mediator. The other two teams looked at each other for a few minutes wondering what they should do. Guinan was of little help since she was dancing in a water fountain, humming a tune.

"Um, hello there. I'm Scotty," stated an older portly man on the Starfleet side with gray hair and mustache. "You know," said Montgomery Scott to one of the people on the other side, "You bear a remarkable resemblance to an old friend of mine. Pavel Chekov was his name. Why the last time I saw him, he was going to-"

"That's all charming, I'm sure," Alfred Bester replied coldly. "But I think it is of much greater importance for you to share the information that you have on this inter-dimensional invasion force that we are here for." Bester had changed into his old Psi Corps uniform, which he had done for his own comfort as well as the discomfort of those he had come with. He was thoughtful like that. "Other than that, I really don't think we have all that much to talk about, old man. Especially reminiscing through your glory days."

"What's your name?" Guinan was suddenly at Bester's side. Surprisingly, her El-Aurian clothing was not showing any signs of water from her traipsing through the fountain.

Alfred Bester was surprised at the sudden change in the woman's demeanor and actually found it intimidating. "Bester."

"You're a telepath, aren't you?"

Bester found her suddenly more intimidating and raised his mental shields. "Yes."

"Read my mind." It was not a request or even a challenge. It was a direct command. A command that Bester couldn't resist. And what he found in her mind caused the blood to drain from his face and he quickly backed up a few steps from her.

"Let me be frank, Mr. Bester." Guinan put on her best smile. "I don't like rude people. I dislike them almost as much as I dislike the Borg. And trust me, you don't want me disliking you as much as I do them." She was still smiling, but she showed all her teeth so that the smile took on a feral aspect.

Bester was just getting his spirit back, but before he could say anything to get himself in any more trouble or insult anyone else, Galen stepped forward and placed a hand on the arrogant telepath's shoulder and silenced him. Bester then discovered that he couldn't read the techno-mage or his apprentice at all either and he found that completely unnerving.

The robed figure of Lennier came forward and bowed lowly to Guinan and the members of Starfleet. "Pardon our comrade. He is unaccustomed to being polite to others. My name is Lennier."

Greetings were exchanged between the two groups. Dureena Nafeel attempted to flirt with Dr. Julian Bashir, yet before Bashir could determine how he wanted to respond, Galen insisted that his apprentice maintain her focus for the duration of their time in this parallel universe. Bester sulked quietly to the side and determined to listen intently as he mental gauged his new ' _allies_ '. Lennier and Garak seemed to find mutual respect in each other. Guinan soothed Scotty's ruffled feathers quickly and the old Scot was soon back to his old self and discussing things with Galen, though he did give Bester a dark look from time to time and muttering about ' _mirror universes_ '. At one-point Q had even had enough of Owen Paris and his son and left in a flash.

Q's sudden departure created a lull in the impromptu conferences, a lull that one arrogant personality was more than happy to exploit. "Shouldn't we be out searching for these Borg creatures?" pointed out Bester. "Not that I am against chummy little chats in the evening," he said looking quickly over at Guinan. "I just think that it would be nice to get this all over with."

Galen nodded. "But now that we have talked with Mr. Scott, I know what we are looking for." The techno-mage raised both of his arms and ten white doves flew out of each of his sleeves into the dusk sky.

"The birds are going to find the Borg for us?" asked Julian Bashir, as he watched them disappear into the city skyline.

"Oh, you'd be surprised what these birds could find," answered Galen.

"And I'd be even more surprised if he actually used real birds," commented Dureena, Galen's apprentice.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **ROSEMONT CONVENTION CENTER**

Dana Scully had been busy since Mulder had left ten minutes previous. The first thing that she had had done was have Sheriff Cordell Walker and some volunteers barricade the fire doors so that they had something against them and their attackers. While this did much to console a number of people in the west lobby of the convention center, Scully wasn't counting on it for protection and was having everyone who wasn't willing to fight the Borg to leave immediately.

After coordinating her efforts with Lee Stetson, they both agreed that the Borg had to be held back until military forces could take over. Meanwhile, they also had to send groups of people to other parts of the massive convention center to evacuate the rest of the people who were most likely already having their seminars if they hadn't already been attacked too. Byers had pulled another fire alarm as a means of evacuating the building, but that still proved useless as all alarms appeared to have been rendered ineffective.

Sheriff Walker and his group of helpers were heading up the first line of defense in case the Borg decided to attack again. A few more people who had no idea what was going on had trickled in and agreed to help. Some, to Scully and Walker's amazement even had weapons. Martin Riggs had a .45 in a shoulder harness as well as a smaller ankle holster which he shared with his partner, Roger Murtaugh. The bigger armory came from ' _Billy_ ' Rosewood at the insistence of his friend, Axel Foley. Rosewood had a large briefcase loaded with various types of handguns as well as three hand grenades. Scully swore to herself that if she survived all this, that Rosewood was going to have to answer a lot of questions as to how he got all that hardware passed security, even if the fast-talking Foley insisted that his friend was relatively harmless.

She had been rather disappointed that Remington Steele and his wife, Laura, had disappeared. Remington had put up a good fight against the Borg, resulting in several people being able to escape the clutches of their cyborg attackers. One thing that really bothered her and she really wanted to ask Remington about was the sword he had used. Of all things to fight with, why a sword?

She couldn't help but think of one of the things Mulder had been speculating on earlier. Something about a secret organization of people from all over the world that went around trying to decapitate each other. Could her teenage crush actually be part of something like that? Could a thing like that even be happening in the world? Dana shook her head. Having started to consider incredible ideas like that, she knew that she had been Mulder's partner for too long.

Lee Stetson's wife, Amanda, was helping Tess direct much of the traffic on the lobby. Mostly she helped get people to aid in carrying some of those who had been hurt while escaping the attack or those that were still recovering from being stunned. Byers helped in an automated fashion, his grief and worry still very evident in his eyes. The Lone Gunmen member had insisted on staying while Frohike went with Mulder to take care of Langly. He was not alone though. A friend of his, Murray ' _Boz_ ' Bozinsky, a famous and yet very geeky-looking scientist as well as a member of the Riptide Detective Agency, was helping to keep an eye on Frohike.

Once she had a minute, FBI agent Dana Scully tried to focus on the map of the convention center that one of the security guards had been able to provide her with.

"You!" a cold female voice demanded from behind her.

Scully sighed in exasperation. "What now?"

A tall brunette woman walked up arrogantly past everyone and right up to her, ignoring the situation going on around them. "I'm looking for a man named Jarod. He was posing as a deputy to one Sheriff Barney Fife, but he is actually a very dangerous man that I've been sent to apprehend. According to some of the people here, your partner left with him a few minutes ago. Where did they go?" she demanded, in a brutally no-nonsense tone.

"Look, I don't have time for this. We have a very dangerous situation here that-"

"I don't care about your situation. I just-"

"Pardon my friend's lack of courtesy," stated a man with a warm smile behind the insistent brunette. "My name in Sydney. This fellow back here is Broots, and this charming woman you have been talking with is Miss Parker. Anything that you could tell us would be greatly appreciated. We have been chasing him for quite some time."

Dana frowned. While the man called Sydney seemed pleasant, his ' _friend_ ', who he called Miss Parker was a complete bitch that Dana didn't even want to give the time of day. She had only briefly seen this Jarod fellow, but if he was a threat, then Mulder and the others could be in serious trouble. "All I know is that my partner, Agent Mulder, took a group of people with him to-. Say, you didn't say what organization you belonged to."

Before she could get an answer, a cry of fear built up from some of the remaining people fleeing the nearby main entrance. The entrance had eight glass doors that people had been keeping open as they exit. Now through the glass, people on the inside could see five Borg drones walking out from one of the side delivery doors and through the decorative flowers and bushes towards the glass doors. People ran through even faster, some falling down and being walked over.

The five drones ignored the people racing by them. Each one carried a two-and-a-half-foot metal pole. Each drone placed their pole on the sidewalk in front of the glass doors. Each turned their device on at the same time causing a blue transparent energy field to rise up against the building.

The people hoping to flee the building and into the night were suddenly bouncing off the blue field before them. The five Borg drones extended the tubules in their arms and stepped through the energy field with no problems. A blond woman, Suzanne Anderson, who had been talking to Dana just a few minutes prior, had fallen down, stared up in terror at one of the drones standing over her. Her shrill scream filled the room. When it was suddenly cut off, people began running the other way.

"Walker!" Scully shouted. "We need to get those people away from those things now!"

Walker, for his part, already had his people moving forward.

"What's going on here?" demanded Miss Parker.

"All the things that you weren't interested in earlier!" snapped Dana. "Tess, I need a way out of here for all these people!" she called out to the security guard who was aiding the wounded.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

The dim light in the refrigerator led Methos to stick his head further back past different containers of food as he continued his search. "Please, MacLeod, please don't tell me that you don't have anything good left in here. What were you thinking?" The questions that Methos, or sometimes known as Adam Pierson, was spouting off were not actually for anyone since he was actually alone, but since it was MacLeod's refrigerator that he was raiding, any and all frustrating comments were directed toward the absent Scot.

Reluctantly accepting defeat, Methos, the oldest known living Immortal on Earth settled on the Fosters beer that he had found to go with his pizza. "You'd think that someone raised in Europe would keep a selection of European beers around instead of this faux-Australian stuff," he commented to himself as he took a swallow.

Methos liked MacLeod. Duncan is the closest thing he has had as a friend or possibly a brother in millennia. Which is also why the five-thousand-year-old man made surprise visits into MacLeod's home. He claimed it was to keep the younger man on his toe and keep his guard up. Being an Immortal was tough and if you were to survive very long you had to be tougher. So Methos had taken it upon himself to heighten Duncan's senses and make him wearier with surprise break-ins and impromptu raids on his food supply. Besides, Methos thought it was fun.

With the open beer in one hand and plate of three slices of cold pepperoni pizza in the other, Methos closed the door to the fridge with a foot. And saw a man dressed sharply in white.

"Hello, Methos. It's been a long time."

"Gaahhh!" Methos dropped the plate of food and the can of beer as he quickly backed away until his back hit the brick wall.

"Is that anyway to greet an old friend?"

The Immortal quickly regained his composure. "You did that on purpose!" he accused. "You startled the living wits out of me on purpose!"

"Do onto others as you would have them do onto you. Haven't you played tricks like that on your friend Duncan a lot lately?"

Methos, at one time known as Death, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, glowered at the man in white whose name he knew was Andrew, the angel of death. "That's different," he stated. Andrew just smiled which caused Methos to laugh. "Fine. Be that way, but at least help me clean this mess up or Duncan will have a fit."

Andrew grabbed a damp dishrag nearby and complied with a smile. "So how have you been?"

"As if you wouldn't already know," snorted the ancient Immortal. "Life goes on," he stated as he tossed the ruined pieces of pizza in the kitchen trashcan. "Life is always going on for me."

"And is that a problem?" asked the angel.

Methos washed his hands of some pizza sauce while his unexpected guest wiped up the marks the pizza had made on the floor along with the spilt beer. "Not really. The only time I ever have any real problems is when you decide to show up. Because when you do, I know that shortly after your arrival there is going to be some very dangerous Immortal that is going to show up and insist on challenging me." Methos looked at the angel he had known for thousands of years daring him to contradict him. "All you are doing is waiting around to see if I am going to lose my head. Admit it."

Andrew looked hurt. "I hope you think that my visits are more than just that."

"Yeah, yeah," admitted Methos as he reached back into the refrigerator for another of Duncan's beers. "There is the whole repentance angle, too. It's just that at my age I-"

The beer can fell out of his hands as the old Immortal felt the quickening energy inside of him rise up at the approach of another of his kind. He looked imploringly at Andrew. "Please tell me that that is Duncan approaching."

The angel of Death gently shook his head.

Without any more hesitation, Methos ran over to the couch where his jacket lay. Even more importantly, where his sword lay within.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **ANTHONY'S**

 **SEATTLE, WA**

"I'll have the Burnt Chicken Alfredo."

"What type of dressing do you want with the salad that comes with your meal?"

He made his selection and the waiter soon left. Joe Dawson had gray hair and a beard to match. He looked tired but sharply dressed. Joe was happy with his lot in life. Vietnam had taken both of his legs when he was just a young man, but he had also found his place and purpose with the Watchers, a secret organization of historians.

Taking a drink of his water, he risked a good look at his subject. Connor MacLeod laughed playfully with an attractive blond woman at the next table. Connor's most recent Watcher had had two abscessed molars in need of immediate attention. Joe, preferring occasional time in the field, volunteered to help keep track of the rascally Immortal for a few days. Considering Connor's reputation, it was quite a treat for Dawson. The fact that Connor was a fellow Scottish clansman with Joe's friend, Duncan, added interest.

While Connor and his date traded witty banter over appetizers, Joe answered the cell phone ringing in his inner jacket. "Joe here. Kolchak? What do you…? Duncan? His car? Kenny? Is Duncan all right? Well, where is he then? Were they Hunters? Fine. I'll be there shortly."

Joe was putting the phone back in his jacket pocket when he realized he now had company at his table. Even more to his surprise, it was Connor MacLeod. "Um, can I help you?"

"Cut the act. I've been told all about you people." As Joe shrugged to feign ignorance, the Immortal quickly reached across the table and pushed up Joe's right sleeve, exposing a dark symbol on his wrist. "I know about the tattoo and everything. Now what was all that about Duncan on the phone?"

Joe sighed. He could tell by the look on the other man's face that he wasn't going to let it go. "Duncan told you about the Watchers, didn't he?" Connor didn't bother to answer the rhetorical comment. Joe realized he should have suspected that Duncan would have told Connor about the Watchers; to warn him about the Hunters, if for no other reason. Joe hoped that the Watchers didn't find out about this. The last time that Joe had informed an Immortal about the existence of the Watchers, the ultra-secret organization had sentenced the handicapped man to death. Fortunately, Joe had been accepted back into the fold. The Hunters, though, were a rogue aspect of the Watchers that had decided to eliminate the Immortals before one of them could win the Game, and potentially become the ruler of mankind.

Joe knew that Connor was a very stubborn man and was not about to back down until he understood the situation. The incredible story Carl Kolchak had just told him on the phone left Joe thinking it might just be too much for him alone. "Fine," he said, "I'm leaving now to find out what's going on. You can come along if you want."

Connor nodded. Joe carefully used his cane to stand up.

"You lost your legs," said Connor, stating the obvious.

"Nam," explained Joe as he tapped one of the prosthetic legs.

"You're Joe Dawson," Connor replied in sudden realization.

Joe sighed. "Duncan told you about me, too." He shook his head. "He really wasn't supposed to tell anyone else."

"Well, it makes things easier for you and I. Duncan said you can be trusted. For the most part anyway."

Joe nodded. "Trusted to help somebody yes; trusted to keep a secret, that's open to debate."

"The way Duncan tells it, you made a good decision by telling him about the Watchers and Hunters. If you hadn't, everyone in your organization would be marked by more than just tattoos if other Immortals had heard of the threat."

Before the Vietnam veteran could protest, Connor had pulled out his wallet and paid for Joe's meal, leaving a generous tip. Realizing that it was pointless to argue with the man, Joe nodded in agreement and motioned to the waiter heading toward them with his salad. "I just have to give an excuse to my date. I'll meet you at the door."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **NEAR THE SPACE NEEDLE, SEATTLE**

"As you can see, we are practicing our characters' personalities in public as a way of assuring our comfort and familiarity with them. Personally, I think we have our characters down pretty well, but I'm sure you've heard how far some directors will go to make sure their actors won't mess up their play. Beginning next month, you should see us opening in a nearby theater." Garak smiled beguilingly to the curious pedestrians stopped to check out the colorfully dressed actors.

"That is unless we lose our funding," Bashir added.

"Please leave the subterfuge to me," Garak whispered out the side of his mouth to the Starfleet doctor. Guinan had asked Garak and Bashir to deal with the growing group of gawkers that crowded around the group as they waited in the park. The colorful apparel of the Starfleet uniforms as well as the obvious alien features of some of them were definitely drawing attention from the evening strollers in the area. Garak rose to the occasion of laying a cover story. Bashir followed his lead, even though he was rather surprised at the method in which Garak chose to handle the situation.

"So what's the play called?" asked a young male college student.

"Actually, the title is still being decided," answered the smooth-talking Cardassian. "I believe the author's working title was ' _Star Journeys_ '. Last week it was being called ' _Solar Frontiers_ '. And before that it was called the ' _Stellar Pathways_ '."

"That stinks," said a nearby teenager. "Why not just call it ' _Star Wars_ '? ' _Star Trek_ ' would be even better than the things you rattled off."

Garak just nodded his agreement. "I'll be sure to mention it to the author."

The teenager looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know, you should also think about having more aliens. I mean, your makeup is awesome, and I really like the reptilian features, but it would add a lot more interest and realism for a futuristic space trekking play to have more than just one or two aliens in it. Especially something less humanoid."

Garak nodded. "Humans do tend to overrun everything. But the director decided to work on quality rather than quantity with his aliens, if I do say so myself," he added with a chuckle.

"Hey, mister," asked a little girl, grabbing Garak's greenish hand. "Is that guy over there the bad guy?"

With a mischievous grin, Garak looked over to where Bester was sulking. "Now if I told you the answer to that, what reason would your parents have to take you to see the play?"

Dureena, professional thief and apprentice techno-mage, was enjoying a pleasant conversation with Montgomery Scott, or ' _Scotty_ ', as he preferred to be called. The retired Starfleet engineer was giving a rendition of his previous trips back in time to Earth's twentieth century. Nearby, Lennier listened as he meditated, contemplating their current circumstances.

"Ah, here we go." Galen held out his left arm; one of the doves he had sent out earlier returned to him. "Now let us see where these cybernetic creatures are. It will just take a moment," he assured those nearby.

Tom Paris pointed to a large building southeast of them. "Unless my tricorder is wrong, I believe we will find them in there." Out of the corner of his eye, Tom saw his father look at him with a hint of pride for showing up the techno-mage. "I know that some of the earlier teams had quite a bit of difficulty locating the Borg due to building structures around them, but we don't seem to have that problem in this century."

A look of mild embarrassment crossed Galen's face. His apprentice, Dureena, gave him a sharp grin. "Just because these people don't have the same technology as you, it does not mean that they aren't as capable at some things," she whispered to him, using her limited skill as a techno-mage to convey her words directly to her teacher's ears.

"True," agreed the techno-mage. "Young man," he said, regarding the younger Paris. "Might I examine that piece of equipment you have? I would like to see how it differs from my own."

Tom looked at his father, who nodded his ascent. "Sure. Here," he said, holding out the device.

Galen merely looked down at the dove on his arm. In obedience, the white bird took off in a quick flurry of feathers and made to land on the tricorder in Tom's hand. Only, instead of landing on the device, the avian creature seemed to dissolve into it in a shower of light particles.

"Uh," began Tom. "That's not exactly what I meant." But before he could ask the enigmatic robed man any further questions, the dove regained its form, flying out of the tricorder and onto Galen's outstretched arm.

"You haven't shown me that one yet," commented Dureena, as she came closer to examine the white bird.

"There are many things that I have yet to teach you, Dureena. Your years as an apprentice will be many. Each day many more new discoveries in the secrets of the techno-mages will be yours to learn." He turned to examine the dove that seemed to have found something interesting to peck at on his sleeve. "This tricorder is an interesting device, young Tom. A little… simplistic for my taste, but the information that you have gathered confirms my own findings."

"Yeah," began Tom Paris awkwardly. "Well, since that worked out so well, I'm going to try contact our other group."

"Might I also examine your communication systems?" asked Galen.

In spite of himself, Tom found himself covering the comm-badge on his chest with his right hand, the thought of the dove flying inside of it was somewhat disturbing to him. "Uh, maybe later. Excuse me," he said, dismissing himself. Tom headed over to some nearby trees where he could try to make contact with the Doctor's group without interruption.

"A word of advice," began Guinan to Galen. "Most humans are not that comfortable around technology that is considerably more advanced than they are used to. You might want to consider…" Something off to the side caught her eye.

A white Department of Fish and Wildlife van sped toward them, then quickly lurched to a stop. Its occupants immediately began pouring out in a semi-disorganized mess; but it was the driver that seemed most focused on the Starfleet and Babylon 5 group.

Mulder jumped out of the driver's seat and headed toward them. He stopped just twelve feet from them, looking intently at the group for a moment while ignoring the bystanders. His eyes almost watered with delight at the sight of Lennier and Garak. "I'm Fox Mulder of the FBI," he explained, holding up his badge. "You're from Starfleet?" he asked, letting the question hang in the air.

After a moment's hesitation resulting from surprise at the mention of Starfleet, Owen Paris stepped forward. "I'm Admiral Paris of Starfleet."

Mulder broke out into a huge grin. "Just stay there for a minute." He turned and started running to the van. There, he grabbed one of the men helping others out of the van and hurried back with him. Although the new man had a bandaged wound on his shoulder, Mulder seemed so set on bringing him over that he failed to realize that the man was obviously in a great deal of pain. "I'd like to introduce you to someone who already knows you. This is Frank Parker. He's a time traveler."

"Time traveler?" Guinan stepped to the forefront before Admiral Paris could say anything.

"Hello, Guinan." Frank gave her his prize-winning smile. "Nice to see you again."

"We've met, haven't we," commented the purple clad woman rhetorically.

"You're hurt." Bashir hurried forward to examine the bullet wound in Frank's shoulder. The Starfleet doctor automatically brought out his medical tricorder and began scanning the dark-haired man.

"You must be Dr. Bashir," Frank said. "Nice to meet you."

"I thought you said you had already met us," replied Julian as he applied a hypospray to the time traveler's neck.

"I met some of the others, but you had already been killed by the time-"

"Killed!" Julian's instruments faltered in his hands.

"Hey, don't worry, man. I'm always changing events in time. And thanks to some of the things from the future Guinan told me about, I think that we take out the Borg before any nuclear attacks."

"Nuclear attacks?" Admiral Paris repeated.

"Five days from now. And the bombs don't stop the Borg. They just keep coming and assimilating everything in their path." The look on Frank Parker's face was grim. "We are literally the only hope for the future."

The group's momentary silence was broken as a rude voice intruded. "And we should believe all this with no evidence? I do not think so."

"Ah, Bester." Frank managed a smile. "The Guinan in the future told me you would probably be a problem. That's why she specifically told me to let you look in my head."

Bester hesitated. He had been about to insist upon a telepathic scan of Frank, but having an open invitation to do so surprised him. "Why do you offer this?"

"Because I saw you being assimilated."

"Assimilated?" Bester repeated, trying out the unfamiliar term. The Q being had mentioned the word when he had arrived of the B-5 station but had not gone into too many details. Bester had just assumed that Q had just been in a hurry; now he wondered if perhaps there was a reason for Q not to go into details.

Frank tapped his forehead. "Just take a look if you want to find out," he challenged the arrogant telepath. "But it is not pretty. Just saying," he added dismissively.

Bester bit his lip in frustration. Then concentrated. Three minutes later he turned away. "No! It will not end like this! I will not end like that!"

Bester almost slapped away the hand on his shoulder. Lennier stood there in stoic peacefulness. "If you wish to change the outcome of the future, you must focus on the present situation."

"I know that! I don't need any Minbari to tell me that!" snapped the former Psi-Corps agent.

"Then get your act together, man," snapped Guinan, "because my earlier threats to you still apply." Guinan turned her attention back to Mulder and Parker. "Now you said you had talked to me a couple of days from now, in the future. Did my future self have any useful advice to give me or did she just…" Words escaped her as her eyes caught sight of something being carried out of the white van. "Oh merciful Lightbringer," she heard herself whisper. "You brought a Borg drone with you."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

"Very well, Tom. We shall meet you there." The Doctor put the comm-pin back in one of his many pockets.

"That's an interesting device," commented Ezekiel. The resurrected man was doing his best to open up and interact with the others, especially now that his future had more than just a glimmer of hope.

"Yes. Borrowed to me from the Starfleet fellows we are working with. Seems they have pinpointed the whereabouts of the Borg - in that direction. That large building over there, I believe."

"That's where they are, all right," commented Jonathan Smith.

"You already knew that?" asked the Doctor; the angel nodded. "Then why didn't you tell us before this?" he asked in an exasperated tone.

The Doctor's disbelief in God and angels was beginning to reestablish itself now that he had had time to think. Absolutes in the universe were just fine by him because they provided structure, but he just didn't accept those absolutes as being established by a sentient all-powerful entity. Thus, the very presence of Jonathan and Monica in the group was beginning to make the Doctor irritable. He was mildly pleased that the one proclaiming himself as the Devil had already taken it upon himself to depart for parts unknown, although he had promised to return.

"There are a lot of things in life you just have to find and work out for yourself," replied the angel.

The Doctor scowled at being given the obvious advice that _he_ usually imparted to the more primitive races that asked for his help in technological advancement for their societies.

"Ah, how about Jonathan and I hang out in the back of the group so we can talk?" asked Ezekiel, hoping to keep things peaceful.

The Doctor grunted in agreement. The group left the small café and began walking in the early evening air, hoping that K-9 could pick up any trace of nearby Borg.

"Doctor?" Leela passed by the two men as she took her place next to the time-lord. "I wish to ask you something."

"It's not about those so-called angels, is it?"

"No, Doctor. I have no doubts about them. I do wonder, however, about you being so watchful around Lex. He seems like a very pleasant fellow."

The Doctor bit his thumb in thought. "Lex Luthor has a reputation that reaches throughout the continuum. And it's not a good one either. I need to be as wary around him as I would around the Master."

"He seems like a very strong, determined man. But not evil," insisted the woman.

"Maybe not yet," the Doctor replied. "But he seems to be right on the precipice of going bad. At least that seems to be what he thinks." He looked back to where the bald young man was walking with the much older and gruffer Mark Gordon. The older man was telling the young man story after story about his days as a police officer. Although their personalities were not at all alike, Lex seemed to listen intently to the older man. To the Doctor it seemed as if the bald man was trying to seek redemption through penance by listening to everything the older man was telling him. Shaking his head, the time-lord focused his attention back on their nearby objective.

Clark walked in silence with Lana beside him. She seemed to derive comfort in being near him, yet also appeared ill at ease. Clark merely waited for her to open up. He didn't have to wait long.

"Clark, what it's like to be from another planet?"

"Funny you should ask that," answered Clark. "I really have no idea. That's like asking Pete Ross what it's like to be from Africa when all he has known his whole life is America."

Lana nodded as she considered that insight. "Sorry, Clark. It's just a lot to take in."

"Don't worry about it," replied the young Kryptonian. "I'm still thinking about what the Doctor said about the world I came from blowing up."

She nodded again, looking down awkwardly at the pavement. "Yes, that would be a lot to take in."

Clark nodded. "And the Doctor said that I was the last known survivor of my planet. That means that I'm probably the last of my kind. Lana, I know nothing of my heritage and since the planet has blown up, I probably never will."

The young woman saw the pain in Clark's face, and it hurt her heart. "Maybe the Doctor was wrong about you being the only survivor. I mean, a race that can send a baby across space in a rocket ship should be able to save more than just one of their people, right?"

Clark nodded gloomily. "I suppose."

They walked in silence for a few seconds, each deep in thought. "And the Doctor said he travels through space and time, so why not ask him to take you back to Krypton or whatever it was called so you can explore your roots. At least to find out why it was you that was sent out across space and not some other baby."

A ray of hope sparkled in Clark's eye. "You may have something there! I'm going to ask the Doctor right now!" Without thinking, the young man leaned over and gave Lana a brief, passionate kiss before hurrying up to the front of the group to talk to the Doctor.

Lana paused for a moment to catch her breath. "Wow! That was super!"

Chloe paused in her conversation with Kenny. A lump formed in her throat after seeing Clark kiss her rival for his attention.

"Is something wrong?" asked Kenny. The youthful-appearing Immortal had enjoyed opening up to the pretty blond woman as he related some of the events in his life to her. He never would have dreamed of doing such a thing before, but Monica, the angel currently looking after him, recommended that he do so.

"Um, nothing. Just thought of something. You were telling me about the Children's Crusade in medieval Europe." Chloe tried to focus Kenny's stories, but her mind kept returning to Clark and her feelings for him.

Monica followed behind in silence as the group made their way toward the convention center. She continued to send prayers up to God, along with a few pleas to know why this was all happening.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **MAKESHIFT AIDS AND HINDERANCES**

 **NORTHEAST CONFERENCE HALL**

 **ROSEMONT CONVENTION HALL**

Angus MacGyver walked over to the table and picked up an item. "Now, of all the everyday items out there, I have found this to be one of the most useful." MacGyver pulled out a long strip of duct tape from a roll for dramatic effect. "Now the uses for this piece of adhesive material can be a lot more effective than you see on the ' _Red Green Show_ '." He waited for the chuckles from his audience to subside before continuing.

MacGyver had been very surprised when asked to teach at the conference. Apparently, one of the people putting together the list of speakers had heard of his creativity in making use of common items as a means of offensive or defensive weapons, traps, and various other functional aids. MacGyver agreed to do the class, thinking that very few people would attend his session with so many other sessions available at the same time. But word of his unusual methods had gotten around and over half of the seats available were claimed on the very first hour of orientation. Luckily for him, there were a number of good grocery and hardware stores nearby; he could provision himself for a wide variety of demonstrations.

"Now, we have the obvious things that we can do with duct tape like makeshift handcuffs. But I've actually used it for much more creative things like…"

The doors to the hall flew open and two men hurried in, one tall with dark hair, the other shorter and blond. Both men were breathing hard, but moved rapidly toward the podium where MacGyver stood with his duct tape.

"Um, can I help you?" MacGyver asked since he was the speaker there.

"There's a fire!" yelled the taller man. "Everybody has to evacuate the building immediately!"

"A fire, Rick?" inquired the shorter blond man that was accompanying him.

"Yes, a fire," insisted the other man. "Whatever it takes to get these people out of here."

A number of people in the seats became nervous; a few were even gathering up their belongings and heading toward the exit the two men had just entered through.

"Why not the truth?" A.J. asked his brother, Rick.

"What? That there is some kind of weird futuristic terrorists out there? Would you believe it? I saw the whole thing and I barely believe it!"

At the mention of terrorists, almost everyone in the audience was at their feet; they all wanted to hear more of what was going on.

MacGyver was about to ask what was really happening when someone else beat him to it. "Excuse me, what's all this noise about fires, bombs, and terrorists?"

Rick Simon did a double take. "Say, aren't you John McClane? You handled that hostage crisis in Las Angeles about ten years ago, right?"

"Yeah!" said A.J. "And that airport terrorist thing during a blizzard!"

The man looked at the Simon brothers with annoyance in his eyes. "That was my cousin. I'm David Addison on the Moonlighting Detective Agency."

Rick and A.J looked at each other. "Never heard of you," they said in unison.

David was about to blow up at the sibling detectives when a woman's hand settled on his shoulder. "You'll have to forgive David," commented an attractive middle-aged blond. "He's mistaken for his cousin all the time and never handles it well."

"Hey!" A.J.'s eyes widened. "You're Maddie Hayes! The model!"

Her eyes fluttered in embarrassment as she worked on blushing. "You recognize me?"

"Are you kidding? That gorgeous face? It's the one thing that we could agree on when we were kids." A.J. nodded in agreement to Rick.

A slight frown appeared on the former model's face while her partner, David, broke into a bout of laughter. "Excuse me," the man said as he recovered from laughing. "But you were yelling about a bomb and everything… Remember?"

"Right," A.J. agreed. "Now we need to…"

"You two need to come with us," said someone behind them.

"And who are you?" asked Rick, doing his best to appear formidable.

"I'm Spenser," said the man. "And this gentleman is called Hawk. Trust me when I say you don't want to irritate Hawk." Rick, sizing up the black man, took a step back. While Rick tried to appear intimidating, Hawk actually succeeded. "Now, I think it is in your best interest to come with us instead of trying to scare everyone. Then we will hand you over to security and they…"

"But there really is a situation here!" insisted A.J.

"The only situation I see here is you." Spenser grabbed one of A.J.'s arms and twisted it behind his back as he began leading him toward the door. Rick thought about trying to fight Hawk but decided against it immediately.

"David, do something," said Maddie.

"Like what? They're probably a couple of pranksters who went too far. You know how it is."

"Mr. Addison is probably right," commented MacGyver. "I'm sure that if there had been an actual situation, we'd have all been warned by much more conventional means."

The lights flickered just as the Simon brothers were being led to the door. Everyone in the small auditorium quieted down. In the distance, they could hear the screams of people in terror.

"What's going on out there?" demanded Hawk. The large black man grabbed Rick and pulled him close in a threatening manner.

"We already told you what's going…" He stopped when he saw the look of anger in the eyes of the man holding him. "OK, forget all of what we told you. Just get these people out of here," insisted the California detective. "It's not safe to remain here."

"But not that way." Spenser had already let A.J. go and was walking over to the emergency exit door off to the side of the room. MacGyver followed after him, motioning everyone to also follow.

"I believe this door leads straight outside; if there is any real danger in the convention center, we won't be exposed to it." Spenser pushed open the door, letting in the cool evening air. He also let in the drones standing right outside. Before he could dodge, a pronged fist stabbed him in the abdomen.

A second drone reached out to stab MacGyver, but the man managed to catch the arm in the strip of duct tape he still held. He darted quickly behind the drone, using the duct tape to pin one of the drone's arms to its chest, while limiting the access of the other arm. With great earnestness, he wrapped more of the roll of tape around the intruding drone.

Hawk was about to go to his friend, Spenser, when beams of light flashed through the dark opening of the emergency exit, felling whomever they hit. Maddie Hayes was one of the first to go down. As he tried to help Maddie, David Addison soon followed. Through the moments of chaos, Hawk saw his friend of many years turn to him. Gray veins throbbed horribly as they spread across his face. Spenser mouthed one word to him in that moment and Hawk took that advice, running with the others through the main doors and into the halls of the convention center even as more drones came in through the outside exit.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **MACLEOD'S APARTMENT**

Remington pounded on the door to MacLeod's place. Laura had almost been in a state of terror when she'd noticed they were being followed about ten minutes before they arrived at their destination. Steele was sure he had shaken the tail, although he had had to admit that it had been a very good one. It didn't help that Laura's eyes were darting to all the shadowy alleys that they passed.

"Are you sure he's even home?" Laura asked.

"Of course I am. I can feel him in there." He stopped his pounding for a second. "At least I can feel the quickening of someone in there."

Before he could expand that thought further, the door burst open and a foot flew out of the doorway, kicking Remington a few feet back.

Even with the wind knocked out of him, Steele was able to draw and ready his sword as his unknown attacker rushed him. Still, all he could do was defend himself as the other man continued with a fast and furious assault.

Laura's first instinct was to help her husband. But then she remembered what he had told her. Immortals must fight one on one with no interference or help. She clenched her hands in fear and frustration as she watched. She had seen him survive two fights to the death before, neither of which he had initiated, but this did little to restore her confidence that her husband would win. She then noticed the man behind her.

"Who are you?" she asked, as she moved into a fighting stance her husband had taught her. "Are you Duncan MacLeod?" she asked hopefully.

The handsome blond man shook his head and smiled. "I'm Andrew."

Noticing that he didn't seem at all troubled by the two men violently engaged in a sword fight just a little ways away, Laura made an educated guess. "Are you one of them? Immortal and running around with a sword."

"It's a long time since I've used a sword, Laura."

"You know my name?" she said with surprise. "Who are you?"

Andrew ignored her and took a few steps toward the fighters. "Enough, Methos. This man is not your enemy. He is not after your head. He's merely looking for Duncan's help."

Methos carefully backed away from Remington before lowering his guard and checking a shallow cut on his hip. "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place instead of letting me charge out like a fool?" Methos, realizing that Andrew's surprise visit had unnerved him more than he would have thought, mentally kicked himself for recklessly risking his life.

"Methos?" Remington said the name in awe while gasping for air. "The legendary Methos! I just went one-on-one with the oldest living Immortal and survived?"

Methos eyes darkened. "You survived because I didn't finish the fight. And don't go around saying my name. I like anonymity; besides, you don't want the kind of attention that kind of news would get you. Others hearing of your exploits might decide that your quickening is just what they need to win the game."

Remington heard the wisdom in the advice and the slightly veiled threat if he talked about it. He also had more cuts on his body that he had been able to inflict upon the elder Immortal. "We were looking for Duncan."

"So Andrew says." Methos looked over at the angel in white. "Andrew, this guy isn't the threat that brought you here. But if he isn't the threat, then what is?"

Andrew looked grim. "The trouble is where Duncan is."

"Duncan's in trouble. Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"What's going on?" demanded Steele. He was limping due to some of his new injuries, so his wife hurried over to help steady him. Neither of them regarded the severe injuries he had as they both knew they would heal shortly, but blood loss still made Steele feel woozy. "Duncan's a friend of mine and…"

"He's my friend, too," snapped Methos. He looked at Andrew distrustfully. "He's the first real friend I've had in a long time."

Andrew nodded. He knew that friendship was a hard thing for Methos to admit to. He also knew it was necessary. "I'm afraid that Duncan's troubles are related to the troubles that Remington and Laura encountered earlier this evening."

Methos turned to the detective couple. Laura stiffened in fear. Steele gripped his blade harder.

"Explain to me what Andrew is talking about."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **Characters in order of appearance or mentioned** **:**

 **Guinan** (Whoopi Goldberg) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988-1993)

 **Q** (John de Lancie) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-?), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager

 **Garak, Elim** (Andrew Robinson) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Borg –** from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988)

 **Paris, Adm. Owen** (Richard Herd) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1999-2001)

 **Doctor, The 4th** (Tom Baker) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1974-1981)

 **Scott, Cdr. Montgomery** _ **'Scotty'**_ (James Doohan) – from the TV series Star Trek (1966-1969)

 **Paris, Lt. Tom** (Robert Duncan McNeill) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

 **Archer, Capt. Jonathan** (Scott Bakula) – from the TV series Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005) (mentioned only)

 **Kirk, Capt. James** (William Shatner) – from the TV series Star Trek (1966-1969) (mentioned only)

 **Chekov, Pavel** (Walter Koenig) – from the TV series Star Trek (1967-1969) (mentioned only)

 **Bester, Alfred** (Walter Koenig) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998)

 **Lennier** (Bill Mumy) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998)

 **Nafeel, Dureena** (Carrie Dobro) – from the TV series Crusade (1999)

 **Bashir, Dr. Julian** (Siddig El Fadil) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Galen** (Peter Woodward) – from the TV series Crusade (1999)

 **Scully, Dana** (Gillian Anderson) – from the TV series X-Files (1993-2002)

 **Walker, Cordell** (Chuck Norris) – from the TV series Walker, Texas Ranger (1993-2001)

 **Byers, John Fitzgerald** (Bruce Harwood) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Stetson, Lee** _ **'Scarecrow'**_ (Bruce Boxleitner) – from the TV series Scarecrow & Mrs. King (1983-1987)

 **Riggs, Det. Martin** (Mel Gibson) – from the movie Lethal Weapon (1987)

 **Murtaugh, Det. Roger** (Danny Glover) – from the movie Lethal Weapon (1987)

 **Foley, Det. Axel** (Eddie Murphy) – from the movie Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

 **Rosewood, Det. William** _ **'Billy'**_ (Judge Reinhold) – from the movie Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

 **Steele, Remington** (Pierce Brosnan) – from the TV series Remington Steele (1982-1987)

 **Holt, Laura** (Stephanie Zimbalist) – from the TV series Remington Steele (1982-1987)

 **King-Stetson, Mrs. Amanda** (Kate Jackson) – from the TV series Scarecrow & Mrs. King (1983-1987)

 **Tess** (Della Reese) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)

 **Frohike, Melvin** (Tom Braidwood) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001) (mentioned only)

 **Langly, Richard** _ **'Ringo'**_ (Dean Haglund) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001) (mentioned only)

 **Bozinsky, Murray** _ **'Boz'**_ (Thom Bray) – from the TV series Riptide (1984-1986)

 **Parker, Catherine** (Andrea Parker) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Jarod** (Michael T. Weiss) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Fife, Sherriff Barney** (Don Knotts) – from the TV series The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)

 **Anderson, Suzanne** _ **'Pepper'**_ (Angie Dickinson) – from the TV series Police Woman (1974-1978)

 **Sydney** (Patrick Bauchau) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Broots** (Jon Gries) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Pierson, Adam / Methos** (Peter Wingfield) – from the TV series Highlander (1995-1998)

 **MacLeod, Duncan** (Adrian Paul) – from the TV series Highlander (1992-1997) (mentioned only)

 **Andrew** (John Dye) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)

 **Dawson, Joe** (Jim Byrnes) – from the TV series Highlander (1993-1998)

 **MacLeod, Connor** (Christopher Lambert) – from the movie Highlander (1986)

 **Kolchak, Carl** (Darren McGavin) – from the TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1984-1985)

 **Kenny** (Myles Ferguson) – from the TV series Highlander (1994-1995)

 **Mulder, Fox** (David Duchovny) – from the TV series X-Files (1993-2002)

 **Parker, Lt. Frank** (Jonathan LaPaglia) – from the TV series Seven Days (1998-2001)

 **Stone, Ezekiel** _ **'Zeke'**_ (Peter Horton) – from the TV series Brimstone (1998-1999)

 **Smith, Jonathan** (Michael Landon) – from the TV series Highway to Heaven (1984-1989)

 **Monica** (Roma Downey) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)

 **The Devil** (John Glover) – from the TV series Brimstone (1998-1999) (mentioned only)

 **K-9 Mark I** (voiced by John Leeson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-?)

 **Leela** (Louise Jameson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-1978)

 **Luthor, Lex** (Michael Rosenbaum) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Gordon, Mark** (Victor French) – from the TV series Highway to Heaven (1984-1989)

 **Kent, Clark Jerome / Kal-El** (Tom Welling) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Lang, Lana** (Kristin Kreuk) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2009)

 **Sullivan, Chloe** (Allison Mack) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Ross, Pete** (Sam Jones III) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2008) (mentioned only)

 **MacGyver, Angus** (Richard Dean Anderson) – from the TV series MacGyver (1985-1992)

 **Simon, A.J.** (Jameson Parker) – from the TV series Simon & Simon (1981-1988)

 **Simon, Rick** (Gerald Raney) – from the TV series Simon & Simon (1981-1988)

 **Spenser** (Robert Urich) – from the TV series Spenser: For Hire (1985-1988)

 **Hawk** (Avery Brooks) – from the TV series Spenser: For Hire (1985-1988), A Man Called Hawk (1989)

 **McClane, John** (Bruce Willis) – from the movie Die Hard (1988) (mentioned only)

 **Hayes, Madelyn** _ **'Maddie'**_ (Cybill Shepherd) – from the TV series Moonlighting (1985-1989)

 **Addison, David** (Bruce Willis) – from the TV series Moonlighting (1985-1989)


	6. Chapter 6

**A TANGLED WEB PART 5: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?**

 **By Charlie Nelson**

 **AuThOr'S NoTeS**

 _There are a lot of characters here. I will have a list of them at the end of the chapter. You can also look them up on the Internet Movie Datebase or Google them._

 **Chapter 6**

 **ROSEMONT CONVENTION HALL**

The attendees at the law enforcement convention fled from the attacking Borg drones. Fortunately, only a few drones were armed with the laser weapons, and most of the drones still wore some of the clothing from before they were converted.

Lee Stetson, who worked for the Agency, directed people through the chaos ensuing around him. The FBI woman, Dana Scully, and the security guard, Tess, had people hurrying ahead to clear obstacles and find a workable form of egress for everyone, while he directed the two volunteer teams protecting their escape. When he last saw Dana, she seemed to be in the middle of a shouting match with the dark-haired woman that he heard called Miss Parker. But the short, stocky Tess seemed to be able to get them focusing on the more important thing at hand: survival.

The first team tried to organize people to help move the wounded or unconscious in any way they could. His own wife, Amanda, was busy pushing a food cart with two stunned people precariously lying on the top of it. Helping her was an older woman, Jessica Fletcher, one of the speakers of the day, who was, coincidentally, also Amanda's favorite author. Others, such as Mr. & Mrs. Columbo, were half carrying/half dragging the stunned form of CSI man, Gil Grissom.

The second team formed a resistance group in the hopes of delaying or possibly even defeating the attackers. Cordell Walker was checking the positions Martin Riggs, Axel Foley, Roger Murtaugh and Billy Rosewood had chosen for themselves, as well as locating places for those that were unarmed. Meanwhile, the sparse furniture of the center was being dragged away from the walls and used as a protective barrier against the coming drones.

"Wait a minute!"

A skinny dark-haired man, by every definition a nerd, hurried by one of the hastily made blockades helped by one of Dana's associates, John Byers. The nerdy man was hindered by a large remote-control device that he had been working on, which was directing a two-foot tall orange plastic-covered robot with wheels and a cone-shaped head.

"Murray, you're going to have to leave it behind," insisted Byers.

"I'm not losing the Roboz, John!" The skinny, dark-haired man worked frantically at his remote as he willed the little, orange device to move faster over the sixty-foot gap between them.

Even in that hectic moment, Lee recognized the famous scientist and computer hacker as well as an experimenter in robotics Murray Bozinsky, who had dropped out of the field to take part in a detective agency. Putting down the table he had just dragged into position, Lee reached out and grabbed the skinny scientist's arm and pulled him out of the way of some ugly, yet colorful metal modern art piece the Penhall brothers were trying to position into place for the final part of their blockade.

Unfortunately, this caused Murray to drop his remote for the Roboz.

Murray stared at the damaged controls in anger, and then turned to face Lee. "Lucky for you the Roboz is set up to recognize my voice commands, or else I'd…I'd…I'd…" Murray shook his bony fist in frustration but was smart enough to not do anything about it. "Roboz! Move forward." The little orange unit complied with the command and moved toward its maker.

Murray Bozinsky adjusted his glasses and smiled with approval as the little bot carefully maneuvered around a woman's high-heeled shoe that had fallen there, then resumed its direct course. "I've just upgraded his sensors last month and as you can see it works like a dream. Now, if you'd just move one of these obstacles a little so he can fit through, I'd greatly appreciate it."

Lee looked at him as if the geeky scientist was insane. However, he was distracted by a young woman shrieking; part of her blouse had caught in some of the sharper edges of the modern art sculpture she was trying to slide past to safety. One of the Penhall brothers was trying to help but was being slapped away by the young woman. Lee turned to John Byers. "Deal with Bozinsky. I don't have time." He purposely turned away before Byers could say anything and went to help Penhall with the young woman.

Byers sighed. "Murray, the Roboz is not going to make it. Those cybernetic organisms are not even fifteen feet behind it, and even they move faster than your robot."

"It's not fair. The Roboz wasn't designed for speed. He was…" One of the drones coming from behind the Roboz raised its mechanized right limb, and the Roboz ceased to move forward.

"Roboz? Roboz. Move forward!" Murray stared in bewilderment as the computerized small orange robot he had designed and built turned itself around and headed straight for the drone that had been behind it. "What's he doing? Roboz! Stop! Not that way!" Murray cried out.

Byers had to grab the skinny scientist to keep him from jumping over the rushed barricade they had just built. "Murray! This is not rational behavior!"

Bozinsky could only stare as his creation stopped itself in front of the lead drone of a short Chinese man that had been turned into a cybernetic zombie for the Borg. The drone seemed to study the little primitive unit for a moment with its infrared eye and the sensors on its arm. The Roboz jerked slightly, and then was still. The drone stood there as if considering it for a further moment, then waved its arm over the small orange unit again. The Roboz began moving again, only this time it was back down in the direction is which the drones had come.

"That… that thing has reprogrammed the Roboz!" Murray accused, pushing Byers back and was halfway over the wall before Byers could get a hold on the man's tweed jacket. They struggled briefly until Byers managed to belt Murray with a right hook.

Byers shook his hand in pain, and then bent over to drag Murray's limp form off the wall and onto the floor. A hand on his shoulder let him know that Lee was back from dealing with the girl. "Well, at least I stopped him," commented Byers to which Stetson nodded. "But what should I do with him now?"

Lee looked at Byers and shook his head. "You knocked him out; you carry him out. I can't spare anyone to help at this point."

Byers nodded begrudgingly. With one last spiteful look at the oncoming drones, the computer nerd turned and with some effort lifted the unconscious geeky scientist. Grabbing Murray's arm and putting it around his own neck, Byers hurried after the rest of those fleeing. Behind him, he knew that a very dangerous battle was about to occur, and he was somewhat relieved that he would not be there for it. Not that that made him feel any safer.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

"Keep your head down!" Lee Stetson pulled the woman out from behind the tipped-over candy machine. Candy bars had littered the floor, but no one had time to think about grabbing any.

The long-haired blond woman turned to scowl at him. She held out a lighter and pushed Lee back. Sticking her head up, she spit the alcohol in her mouth at a very close Borg drone, lighting it mid-air with the lighter. The drone lit up, waved its arms about for a few seconds before falling half on top of the candy dispenser. It lay there twitching.

Jody Banks turned and gave Lee a scathing look. "I know my business and I can handle myself!"

"You're taking too many risks. I don't care if you are a stunt woman."

Jody grabbed the bottle of very potent alcohol she had used to fuel the fire and stuffed some cloth in the top. "They got Colt. And now they are going to pay! I don't care about anything else!"

"They will pay. Just don't start any more fires in here!" Lee insisted. The Borg drones were closing fast on the barricades their Human prey had erected. The guns provided by Billy Rosewood and Martin Riggs turned out to be highly ineffective. Even slightly dangerous, as Joey Penhall found out when a ricochet bullet clipped his side. Rosewood's grenades shook the drones around just enough to keep them from the advantage. All in all, the drones were still persistent and closing ground.

"Just one more," Jody said. Peeking over the top, Jody tossed the Molotov cocktail before Lee could say anything to stop her. Lying across the candy machine, the burning Borg's arm lurched forward, tubules extended to pierce the calf of Jody's leg.

"Aaargh!" Jody began lashing out at the burning body with her fist repeatedly before grabbing the tubules and trying to pull them out, failing.

"Stop!" Lee pulled her back. "You'll hurt yourself." It wasn't until he had her down again that he saw the telltale sign of the grayish veins beginning on her face. "Awe, Jody. You should have listened."

He was so focused, that when a body settling beside him, Lee jerked up.

"Hey, chief. Just me." Lennie Briscoe, an older man than most here, gripped a metal bar tightly. The bar had previously been part of a coat rack, but was now a simple weapon. "Things are getting pretty close quarters. And these things aren't going down as easy as they should. I recommend that we pull back. Hopefully figure out what we are dealing with. And call in the marines while we are at it."

Lee held Jody as her body trembled, going into shock due to the invading nano-probes. From his vantage point, he could see the other encounters in the area rather well. Axle Foley was busy bashing a drone in the side with a thin metal trashcan. He worked to keep it off balance while trying to knock it unconscious. Sheriff Walker was doing his best to cover Foley, but the black Detroit cop was stunned from the shot of a nearby drone. Before Walker could pull Foley to cover, however, the drone he'd been beating on injected him in the foot.

"We can't hold them," Stetson observed, for his own realization as well as to acknowledge this thought to Briscoe.

"Yeah," agreed Briscoe. "You know, I'd always wondered how the defenders of the Alamo felt holding back the Mexican Army. I figured they must have felt honored to have just been there. Now I know that they were just terrified and too stubborn to give up regardless of the overwhelming odds."

Hurrying over on his hands and knees was another one of the defenders, Thomas Hooker. "They got the blond?" he asked, looking over at Jody. "Too bad. Anyway, we got a problem. Riggs and Magnum decided to try an offensive move."

A look of disbelief crossed Stetson's face. "Offensive? How?"

"Look over there," he gestured with his head.

Martin Riggs and Thomas Magnum had each managed to tear off a door and were using them as shields to get closer to the drones. Each of them had a large knife courtesy of Billy Rosewood. Their intent was obvious. Beams of light were blocked by the doors, leading Lee to believe they might actually have something of a means of attack. The Borg had other ideas, however. Two oncoming drones shot out more beams of light, causing the two doors to vaporize and leaving the two potential heroes exposed.

Magnum ran back to the erected barricade and was hit by a stun beam just as he was halfway over. He had to be pulled to safety by his companions. Riggs chose a different path. He quickly rolled toward the nearest drone, then leaped up to tackle it. He sat on its chest, slashing it quickly twice across the throat. Then, he threw the body at another drone nearby, but it only bounced off its personal force field. Before he could do anything else, a beam hit Riggs straight in the chest causing him to collapse across the drone he had been on top of just a moment before.

"Riggs!"

A black man with graying hair was trying to get to his stunned friend, but was being held back by Doug Penhall. Lee recognized the man from the earlier introductions as Roger Murtaugh, a friend of Riggs.

Lee examined the facts. The Borg continued to pour into the hall with no end to their numbers in sight. His own team was dwindling fast. "Let's get out of here, people! Help the wounded and try to take cover!"

He looked down at Jody. She had ceased twitching, but her skin still showed signs of pulsating metallic veins. "Forgive me." With a quick hard jerk, he broke her neck.

"Uh, you really think that was necessary?" asked Briscoe, appalled.

Lee laid Jody's body gently to the side. "I believe it's what she would have wanted. I know I would."

Lee followed the others down the hall. He saw Rosewood and Walker stay behind, providing the others a few more seconds of cover. He knew it was shear suicide, but it was most likely the only way that any of them would survive. Saying a silent prayer for them, Lee hurried over to help Doug Penhall carry Magnum's stunned body down the hall.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **OUTSIDE THE ROSEMONT CONVENTION CENTER**

Lex Luthor and Mark Gordon helped Clark get back to his feet. "You all right?" Lex asked, quickly realizing that Clark was much heavier than he looked. Lex rationalized that Kryptonians must have a higher density than Humans. He was rather surprised he hadn't noticed that before.

The young Kryptonian in question shook his right hand in pain. "Man, oh man! That stings!" Chloe and Lana hurried over to check on their favorite brunette and made all the appropriate sympathy noises. It made Lex think of the Archie comics when Betty and Veronica would fawn all over an injured Archie Andrews.

"I told you not to try that," the Doctor tsked. "You really should consider listening to the advice others have to offer." He returned his sonic screwdriver to his pocket in frustration. "This barrier still presents a problem," he added.

"It just tingles if you touch it lightly," offered Kenny, his hands gently caressing the transparent energy force field in front of the convention center's main entrance. The force field had effectively sealed off that portion of the building. Nearby groups of bystanders were also carefully testing the field out of curiosity while others stood back warily.

Ezekiel Stone pulled Kenny back from the light-bluish energy field. "You got to be careful, kid; you could, uh… I mean, man, you could hurt yourself." The ex-cop had forgotten in the moment that Kenny was actually an Immortal trapped in a boy's body.

Kenny did not look at all appreciated. "I'm not a boy. I've already explained that to you. Besides," he said, looking at the wall of energy again, "I've taken in more energy than this before." His tone of false bravado contradicted his words. Seeing that Ezekiel doubted his chances of doing such a thing, Kenny shrugged. "Well, at least it wouldn't kill me. For long, anyway."

The force field itself appeared to be powered and controlled through five two-and-a-half-foot metal poles evenly spaced and completely covered by the field. On the other side of the energy barrier, the doors to the Center were just ten feet away. Various items such as discarded shoes, purses, glasses, and Styrofoam coffee cups were strewn about on the ground. This led everyone to conclude that something dreadful had most likely happened.

"Well, don't try hitting it," remarked Clark, still shaking his pained hand. "It's got a nasty kick to it."

"You can't solve all your problems with brute force, Clark," chastised Luthor kindly. "It's often better to think first, before you act."

Mark Gordon, another ex-cop, nodded in agreement with Lex. "He's right. Brains have a good advantage over brawn when used right." Then he thought a moment. "Then again, brains backed up by brawn have an even bigger advantage."

"Now what, Doctor?" Leela asked.

The time-lord stood still as he considered the obstacle before him. "K-9, check for any other openings to the building, as well as the strength of this force field and the energy pattern it uses."

The small robotic dog pulled up close to the Doctor and set its sensors to work. Its satellite dish ears swiveled back and forth as it began compiling data.

"Where do you go to get a device like that?" asked Lex as he observed the canine unit at work.

"Much further than you'd believe," answered the Doctor sharply. The frustrated time-lord cast a backward glance to where the two so-called angels, Jonathan and Monica, were having a private conversation; a conversation the Doctor really wished he could listen in on.

"Can you see anything that is going on in there, Clark?" asked Chloe, gingerly rubbing his hurt hand much to the frustration of the nearby Lana.

"You can see inside the building?" The time-lord turned in wide-eyed wonder. "But of course you can! You're a Kryptonian!"

"Yeah," agreed Kenny. "There's not much he can't do." Having heard more about his newfound companions, Kenny had become a quick fan of Clark and Lex. This caused them much awkward amusement. The youthful looking Immortal had read a lot of comic books while trying to retain his adolescent image and had become addicted to them as a result.

"All right, I'll give it a try." Clark turned to gaze at the structure before him. He let his eyes dilate as his vision began sorting through the layers of the building. Beams of steel, layers of bricks, sheets of sheet rock, coats of paint, and various odds and ends passed before his eyes. Further into the building, he spotted a group of people. Some of them seemed to have wires spread throughout their bodies and wore bizarre clothing that seemed almost to emerge from within them. Many of them appeared to have had one of their arms replaced with rather unusual devices.

"Uh, I'm not exactly sure what I'm seeing here. I'm guessing what I see is people ... or maybe the Borg you were talking about."

"Cybernetic beings?" inquired the Doctor.

"Yeah, I think it's safe to call them that," Clark said as he involuntarily swallowed. The sight of the drones from the inside out was rather unnerving. "Though I can't imagine anyone volunteering to have that done to them."

"It is not voluntary," remarked Leela coldly. "They are taken and forced into the dishonorable union of the Borg."

"I think I can understand that," Ezekiel remarked darkly, thinking of his own deal with the Devil. "If we can stop it, we should."

"Hey!" Clark interrupted. "They're coming up on someone." Clark stared into the building before him, seeing what the others could not see. "A woman. She's hiding in a closet, but they seem to know right where she is."

"Maybe they have x-ray vision, too!" proclaimed Kenny.

The Doctor shook his head. "More likely, they have a type of radar. Probably heat sensors or something to detect life forms."

"They have her!" shouted Clark. He pushed against the force field in frustration; it was blocking his way to the damsel in distress.

"You have to do something, Clark!" pleaded Lana.

"How? This force field is keeping everybody out!"

"Clark." Luthor pointed to the side of the building. "The field only covers the doors and windows. Not the walls."

Clark didn't need to have anything else explained to him. He took off at super speed.

"No! Not by yourself!" yelled the Doctor. But it was too late. Clark ran head-on into the side of the building, leaving behind a Clark-sized hole and a spray of dust.

"Hurry!" Leela rushed to the new opening in the convention center, pushing loose rubble out of the way to broaden the opening just a little. Chloe and Lana rapidly climbed through the hole and headed down the hall in the direction that Clark had indicated the woman was.

"Leela! Stay with them!" shouted the Doctor. "The Borg are in their assimilation mode. Don't let the girls go by themselves! K-9, protect them."

Ezekiel and Kenny were the next to reach the hole Clark had made. Kenny was halfway through when he looked back. "Hey! Aren't you coming?"

The subject of his inquiry, Monica and Jonathan, merely smiled. "You don't need us from this point on." Monica voice was reassuring, yet sad. "You will need to have faith for the challenges that you will face within."

"Ah, ha!" The Doctor took off his hat in a sweeping gesture. "So there is something that you are afraid of. And it's in there," he said, pointing to the convention center. "What is it? Are you afraid of the Borg and what they can do to you? Or is it something else?"

Jonathan shook his head, yet maintained his smile. "Yours is a suspicious mind, Doctor. I think it is rather odd, though, that you expect others to trust you at the drop of a hat in the most bizarre situations, yet you can't seem to give that same trust."

The Doctor scowled, but said nothing. Lex Luthor and Mark Gordon cleared a path through the hole for K-9 to roll through. In the distance, police and fire truck sirens sounded. The sharp whine drew closer, indicating someone had phoned for help.

"Are you coming, Mark?" Lex asked. The bald man wouldn't hold it against the older, bearded man if he didn't choose to go with them. As it was, Lex wasn't that comfortable going himself, but felt compelled out of curiosity.

Mark looked over at Jonathan. The angel nodded his head; the decision was up to Mark. "Well, I always wondered what people saw in all those sci-fi movies. I guess now is as good a time as any to find out."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **NEAR THE SPACE NEEDLE**

"Are you sure you have to go? I mean, there sure seems like a lot to do here." Sheriff Barney Fife let his words hang in the air. The old man knew it was more of a plea than anything else. But he really didn't want his deputy leaving him alone with strangers in a city that he wasn't familiar, in a reality that seemed to be falling all around him.

Jarod smiled reassuringly. "Sheriff, I just have to go back to the Rosemont." Behind him, the Pretender could hear the others climbing into the white Fish & Wildlife van. "I don't have time to explain much. But when Mulder's partner, Scully, called a few minutes ago, she said they were being trapped and stalked by the Borg. She also said that several people I know showed up looking for me and are now trapped inside, too."

"These are the people that you were running from?" asked Barney.

"You knew that I was running from someone?" exclaimed the Pretender in surprise.

Barney snorted. "I'm not the sheriff of Mayberry for nothing, you know. I know when someone's on the run when I see them." He made sure to look directly into his deputy's eyes. "I also know when someone is innocent and just wants to help people."

Jarod stared at the man in surprise. But before he could ask anything, Tom Paris grabbed his elbow. "Hey, if you are coming, climb in now. But I warn you, it's going to be a tight fit."

Jarod quickly grabbed Sheriff Fife's hand and shook it. "Next time I'm in Mayberry, I'll be sure to look you up."

"You better. It's your turn to buy coffee and donuts." The sheriff watched as the van doors closed and took off in the direction of the Rosemont Convention Center. As he stood there, he also heard a number of sirens start up in distant parts of the city. "It's going to be one of those nights," muttered Barney, as he turned to the nearby church Agent Hobbes commandeered.

Frank Parker was sitting on a chair at the side of the church entrance, busily talking on a cell phone while keeping people out of the building. Most of the gawkers had thought the scene was being played out by a troop of actors had hurried away once Mulder and Hobbes had flashed their badges, and in Hobbes' case, his all too real gun. The remaining people were those that had followed them from the park. They were either too stoned to know better than to follow or were of a rebellious sort who hated authority figures and were determined to find out what was going on. One look from Bobby Hobbes, however, kept them from foolishly coming too close.

Bobby stood near the doorway. He held his gun in one hand with something wrapped up in a jacket under his other arm. Barney knew all too well what was in the blood-soaked jacket and didn't want to think about it. The way the government agent just stood there looking out was unnerving. Sometimes, Bobby turned to listen to the conversations going on inside; the rest of the time, he just kept looking outside. Making sure not to make eye contact, Barney walked past Hobbes. Unfortunately, that brought him right to Garak.

"Ah, Constable. I was wondering if you might help me with something."

"It's Sheriff Fife, Mr. Space Man," answered Barney with a curl in his lip as he tried to look fierce. Garak merely stood there with an amused smile. This only served to make the country sheriff that much more uneasy. "What is it you want?"

"Just help with our patients," Garak said with an open-armed gesture.

"Well, sure I'll help. What do you…" Words failed the skinny sheriff when he suddenly recollected just who the patients were. "The zombies!? Are you crazy!? I'm not going anywhere near them again!"

Garak continued smiling, unfazed, in what Barney found to be a very reptilian manner. "Then why are you here, Sheriff Fife?"

Barney felt something catch in his throat. He didn't want to admit that the only reason he had stayed behind was because the very thought of going back to the Rosemont Center terrified him. "Fine," he said, giving in to intimidation. "What is it that you want me to do?"

Garak held up some ropes. "Just help me secure the drones."

"Um, o…okay."

The first drone, still in its first stage of transformation, was not complete yet. Langly, as his friend called him, had grayish metallic veins under his skin that seemed to twitch with a life of their own. The unkempt, longhaired blond was not responsive to his condition, but the Mayberry sheriff was certain that it had to hurt something awful. The only reason he knew the man wasn't in a coma was because his eyes were wide open, and he could be left in a standing position and not fall down.

One of Langly's friends, who had been introduced to Barney as Melvin Frohike, was sitting patiently beside his comatose friend and discussing all sorts of things that sounded like outrageous conspiracy theories. With all that had happened that day, however, Barney thought that anything could be possible.

The other drone, the female that the self-proclaimed time traveler had insisted that they bring here, was receiving considerable attention from the Starfleet doctor.

"What's so special about her?" Barney Fife asked as he began tying one of the rope ends to a leg of the table on which the drone was laying.

Dr. Julian Bashir looked up from his medical tricorder. "No one's told you? This young lady is one of a group of four that was traipsing across the multiverse trying to find the parallel world on which they originated. Her name is Wade Welles." Julian looked down in fascination at the drone before him. "I'd have never thought that there was a snowball's chance in hell of anyone finding her, but here she is."

"I don't mean to be rude, Doc," began Barney as he passed the rope over to Garak. Barney made sure not to actually touch the alien, much to the Cardassian's amusement. "But can you make her, well, Human again? If you know what I mean."

Some of the wonder left the young doctor's eyes as grim reality set in. "The procedure has only been done a few times before, and that was with excellent facilities to work in. And while I have never done something like this before, I have studied it intensely. Just a few hours ago, I was being thoroughly briefed about the subject by two physicians that have successively brought their subjects back from the Collective."

"Yeah?" Barney glanced over the body of the dormant female drone. "Not much you can do about her missing arm."

"Actually, I can replace that once I get her back to my medical facilities."

Barney looked again over the drone that was Wade Welles. "What about all that veiny stuff you can see in her skin?"

"That and the nanites in her system can be removed with some of the equipment that I brought with me. I'll also have to inject some reprogrammed nanites in to fix the damage caused by the Borg's previous injection," answered Julian. "I've already begun the process on Mr. Frohike's friend, Mr. Langly. If it had been much longer, however, he would have had to have even more medical treatment from me than I can do here."

"Then you can cure him?"

"Ah, well, we will have to see. It's experimental and hasn't been tested yet, except for a few trials with holodeck simulations. But the theory is sound, and the holographic doctor of Voyager seemed sure that it would work."

"You don't seem too sure about that, doctor," Garak observed.

"The process should work fine for Mr. Langly. Miss Welles, though, may be another matter. She has been through the complete drone process, unlike Mr. Langly, and is completely unresponsive to any of my initial tests. Since her disconnection from the hive mind of the Collective, she just appears to shut herself further and further down. If I can somehow communicate with her soon, I may be able to save her."

A hand came down hard on the Starfleet doctor's shoulder and spun him around. Before Julian could understand what was happening, he found a gun in his face. The man holding the gun was furious. "You would try to save her? To save her!?" Hobbes enunciated each sentence by shoving the gun closer and closer to Bashir.

"Oh dear," Garak interjected. "Perhaps we can discuss this in a more civilized manner." Frohike moved to place his body in front of Langly's. When the Lone Gunman realized that neither he nor Langly were in any immediate danger, he figured it best not to do anything to bring them to Hobbes' attention.

"She infected my partner with that stuff!" he said, indicating the Wade Welles drone. "She's the reason that I had to kill my partner! Darien was my friend!"

"You don't want to do this!" Sheriff Fife pleaded. "Darien wouldn't want this."

Bobby Hobbes shuddered for a moment as the words sunk in. Garak started to move closer; one look from Hobbes made him pull back. Hobbes looked down at the bloodstained jacket still bundled under his arm and sighed. "All right, let's do this like Darien would want me to do it." He thought for a minute but kept the gun pointed directly at the doctor. "Now, Mr. Space Doctor, can you do transplants and regulate body modifications?"

Bashir thought for a second to make sure that he was hearing the man correctly. "Uh, yes. I suppose so. I depends on what you are asking."

"Okay, we're going to make a deal."

"A deal?" whispered Julian, trying to imagine what the armed crazed man was going to ask of him.

"Yeah. A deal. I get you someone to communicate with that-that woman, and you…" Bobby stopped to catch his breath. "You will do a transplant for me."

Hobbes backed away from Julian and lowered his gun. At a nearby table, Bobby carefully set down and began to unwrap the bundle he had been carrying one handed. The blood stuck in some places, but he carefully performed the deed he had set upon.

Julian stared in disbelief at the sight before him. Lying in the middle of the jacket was a severed head of a young man. "You want me to transplant a head? Are you insane?" The words caught in his throat as he realized that the gun was suddenly aimed in his general direction again.

"Julian," spoke up Garak, "perhaps you should hear him out before judging his mental capacities."

"The doctor sounds right on to me," commented Barney Fife, though he was shaking fearfully.

"I'm not talking about a head transplant," spat Bobby. "This is… was… my friend Darien. He has a synthesized gland in his head that was put there surgically. It secrets a quicksilver substance that surrounds his body and renders him invisible. It also has to be carefully regulated or madness begins to take over whoever has the gland."

The doctor's curiosity overrode his hesitancy. Even though there was a gun pointed at him, he began to take a critical look at the severed head. The first thing he noticed was how obviously fresh the wound was. He could also see that the Borg nanites, evident due to the grayish lines on the face, had ceased their performance once their subject was dead. "It might be possible," Julian found himself saying. "Though it would have been better if it had been stored in cryofreeze." He glanced up at the man pointing the gun at him. "Or placed in ice." He frowned. "Can I scan… your friend?"

"Scan?"

"I need data to see if what you are asking is possible. I would like to take out my tricorder and scan the head of your friend. A tricorder is not a weapon, I swear."

"Alright, but move slowly."

Julian carefully reached down and picked up his tricorder. Hobbes moved to the side so that he was not in line with the tricorder.

"Is that like an MRI?"

"MRI?" Julian repeated back. "You mean Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Oh, the tricorder does way better than that primitive form of scanning." He finished his scan, but now stared at the results. "Well, the nano-probes stopped before reaching the artificial gland that I have located. I just need to… hmm, this is interesting. This could be rather dangerous. Toxic for your body."

"That's why I mentioned it needed to be regulated," deadpanned the man with the gun.

"Yes… yes…" Julian began to get lost in his examination. "I think I can make this work properly. Transplanting it shouldn't be a problem either. You'd have to change your diet and take certain supplements. A series of shots every month or so. I think it is all in the capacity of this time to manufacture."

"Then do we have a deal?" Bobby said, his voice sounding more desperate.

"You really think that you can get someone to communicate with her?" the Starfleet doctor asked, nodding towards the drone made from Wade Welles.

Bobby managed to nod and put away his gun. "I can. Just gotta make a call or two."

"'Scuse me," Frank Parker spoke up from the door. "Hate to interrupt this rather intense moment, but I have a woman out here asking for Mr. Hobbes."

"Oh no. Claire," bemoaned Bobby, lowering his weapon toward the ground. "I called her on the way over here. I didn't tell her about Darien though."

"Claire?" asked Julian.

"Claire Keeply. Your new assistant, hopefully." Bobby gently patted Darien's head. "That is if she doesn't kill me."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **A RENTED LEXUS GOING NORTH ON I-5**

Methos sped up and around the semi-truck. He hated the rocks that the big trucks would kick up sometimes and crack the windshields of whoever happened to be unluckily enough to be behind them. Traffic seemed to be slowing down up ahead but that was a common occurrence on I-5 for this time of day. Or any time of the day actually.

In the passenger seat sat Remington Steele, who had actually rented the Lexus a week ago. It had been at Methos insistence that he be able to drive since he knew the area better as well as all the shortcuts. Besides, Methos didn't know Remington and wasn't ready to trust him just yet. They had agreed to not take Laura, Remington's wife, back with them to the Rosemont. Laura had been rather upset over the matter, but her husband pointed out how dangerous it was going to be and had her agree to meet her at a prearranged spot they had set up earlier in case of any Immortal challenges.

Methos had been secretly relieved that Andrew had left. It wasn't that he found the angel of death intimidating - Methos just knew that when it came to his final battle - the battle where he would lose his head to some challenger - that Andrew would be there to bear witness and greet him as his spirit left his decapitated body. It's rather amazing how few Immortals actually worried about dying unlike Methos who didn't like to take chances anymore. And that point of view is what made him what he is today - the world's oldest living Immortal.

Remington shifted uneasily in the passenger's seat. "So, oh great and mighty Methos, what's the secret to living to five-thousand-years?"

Methos smirked. "Can you keep a secret?"

Remington's attention was focused. "Yes."

"So can I." He returned his attention back to the road, having to slow down as a teenager in a Ford Tempo cut into his lane without using blinkers. Something that was a real pet peeve of his. "You're just under a hundred years, right?"

"Is it that obvious?"

Methos looked over at him. "Only to the experienced eye. You're from Ireland or Scotland?"

"Spent some time growing up in both actually." Remington looked out at the rainy atmosphere of Washington. "I was orphaned early in life. Don't know what name I was born with or even when exactly. Ended up having to take to picking pockets and other types of light larceny in order to survive. One day I was running from a very persistent copper and ducked into a theater to get away. They were showing ' _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_ ' with Lon Chaney. I became instantly hooked to cinemas and it remained a big part of my life."

"And your first death?"

"Later when I was about 27 or 28. I had a boating accident of all things. I was trying to impress this beautiful young woman whose father was very rich and didn't want riffraff around his daughter. But he couldn't tell her what to do because his daughter had a mind of her own and would just do what she wanted anyway. Anyway, her father had people follow us everywhere we went. She and I tired of our entourage rather quickly and escaped them on a rented rowboat. However, while doing an impromptu balancing act on the side of the boat to impress her, I slipped, hit my head and fell in the water."

"You died," commented Methos.

He nodded. "The young woman was able to pull me out of the water rather quickly and a few minutes later I was coughing and gasping for air. She was rather impressed with the fact that she had saved me. I was rather grateful, too."

"You had no clue that you had died your first death," concluded the older Immortal.

"Quite right," Remington said. "And after that her father decided she needed a change of scenery and took her away with him on a trip to see North and South America. It was a couple of months after that that I met my first Immortal and he showed me what I was."

"I take it that he was a mentor and not a roving headhunter looking for an easy mark."

"Hugh Fitzcairn was a lot of things, but he did not live for the Game." A dazed expression spread across his face as his mind turned to earlier times. "He helped me learn swordplay and I helped him find a way to deal with changes in society."

"You help him how?"

"Well, Fitz had lived for hundreds of years and many of the old ways were being replaced with new things in the twentieth century. He was having a hard time dealing with it."

Methos, who had lived over several millennia, understood the concept of having to deal with all the changes due to the twentieth century. "What did you do?"

"I introduced him to the cinema."

Laughter filled the car for several minutes. Later, Remington explained to Methos the way Fitz and he would toss the names, dates and stars of movies to each other as reference points to ideas or concepts they wanted to discuss. Methos just dismissed of the cinema idea as irrelevant for him as it had not been an interest of his.

"Well this is it." Remington tensed as they drew closer and closer to the Rosemont Convention Center. Methos avoided the parking ramp and drove toward the main doors. "What is that over the doors? It looks like it's made of energy. A forcefield?"

Methos grimaced. "I'm more concerned with who is standing in front of it. The gray-haired man with the cane is Joe Dawson. I don't know who his friend…" Methos slammed on the brakes. "Oh no. Joe, don't do this to me."

"What?" asked Remington, recovering from the jarring stop. He looked at the two men who seemed to be inspecting a hole in the side of the building. It was then that he felt the quickening in him tingle.

"He's with Connor MacLeod."

"Duncan's clansman? Well, that's good news, right?" Remington really wanted that to be good news. He'd already had one sword fight tonight. He didn't want to have another.

The older Immortal frowned when he saw Connor turn their way and grin. "I don't know if it's good news or not. But from now on call me Adam Pierson. I'd rather he didn't know who I really was."

Remington looked in his rearview mirror to see police lights coming their way. "Well, Adam, whatever it is that we are going to do we better do it soon."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **Characters in order of appearance or mentioned** **:**

 **Stetson, Lee** _ **'Scarecrow'**_ (Bruce Boxleitner) – from the TV series Scarecrow & Mrs. King (1983-1987)

 **Scully, Dana** (Gillian Anderson) – from the TV series X-Files (1993-2002)

 **Tess** (Della Reese) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)

 **Parker, Catherine** (Andrea Parker) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **King-Stetson, Mrs. Amanda** (Kate Jackson) – from the TV series Scarecrow & Mrs. King (1983-1987)

 **Fletcher, Jessica Beatrice** _ **'J.B.'**_ **McGill** (Angela Lansbury) – from the TV series Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996)

 **Columbo, Lt.** (Peter Falk) – from the TV movies Columbo (1968-2003)

 **Columbo, Mrs. Kate** (Kate Melgrew) – from the TV movie Kate Loves a Mystery (1979)

 **Grissom, Gil** (William Petersen) – from the TV series C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-2009)

 **Walker, Cordell** (Chuck Norris) – from the TV series Walker, Texas Ranger (1993-2001)

 **Riggs, Det. Martin** (Mel Gibson) – from the movie Lethal Weapon (1987)

 **Foley, Det. Axel** (Eddie Murphy) – from the movie Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

 **Murtaugh, Det. Roger** (Danny Glover) – from the movie Lethal Weapon (1987)

 **Rosewood, Det. William** _ **'Billy'**_ (Judge Reinhold) – from the movie Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

 **Bozinsky, Murray** _ **'Boz'**_ (Thom Bray) – from the TV series Riptide (1984-1986)

 **Byers, John Fitzgerald** (Bruce Harwood) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Roboz** – from the TV series Riptide (1984-1986)

 **Penhall, Doug** (Peter DeLuise) – from the TV series 21 Jump Street (1987-1992)

 **Penhall, Joey** (Michael DeLuise) – from the TV series 21 Jump Street (1987-1992)

 **Banks, Jody** (Heather Thomas) – from the TV series The Fall Guy (1981-1986)

 **Seavers, Colt** (Lee Majors) – from the TV series The Fall Guy (1981-1986) (mentioned only)

 **Briscoe, Det. Leonard** _ **'Lennie'**_ (Jerry Orbach) – from the TV series Law & Order (1992-2004)

 **Hooker, T.J.** (William Shatner) – from the TV series T.J. Hooker (1982-1986)

 **Magnum, Thomas** (Tom Selleck) – from the TV series Magnum P.I. (1980-1988)

 **Luthor, Lex** (Michael Rosenbaum) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Gordon, Mark** (Victor French) – from the TV series Highway to Heaven (1984-1989)

 **Kent, Clark Jerome / Kal-El** (Tom Welling) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Sullivan, Chloe** (Allison Mack) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Lang, Lana** (Kristin Kreuk) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2009)

 **Andrews, Archibald '** _ **Archie**_ **'** – (voiced by Dal McKennon) – from the cartoon The Archie Show (1968), The Archie Comedy Hour (1969-1970), Archie's Funhouse (1970-1971), Archie's TV Funnies (1971-1973), The New Archie/Sabrina Hour (1977), (voiced by J. Michael Roncetti) – The New Archies (1987), (voiced by Andrew Rannells) – Archie's Weird Mysteries (1999-2000), from Pep Comics #22 (1941) (mentioned only)

 **Cooper, Betty** – (voiced by Jane Webb) – from the cartoon The Archie Show (1968), The Archie Comedy Hour (1969-1970), Archie's Funhouse (1970-1971), Archie's TV Funnies (1971-1973), The New Archie/Sabrina Hour (1977), (voiced by Lisa Coristine) – The New Archies (1987), (voiced by America Young) – Archie's Weird Mysteries (1999-2000), from Pep Comics #22 (1941) (mentioned only)

 **Lodge, Veronica** – (voiced by ?) – from the cartoon The Archie Show (1968), The Archie Comedy Hour (1969-1970), Archie's Funhouse (1970-1971), Archie's TV Funnies (1971-1973), The New Archie/Sabrina Hour (1977), (voiced by Alyson Court) – The New Archies (1987), (voiced by Camille Schmidt) – Archie's Weird Mysteries (1999-2000), from Pep Comics #22 (1941) (mentioned only)

 **Doctor, The 4th** (Tom Baker) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1974-1981)

 **Kenny** (Myles Ferguson) – from the TV series Highlander (1994-1995)

 **Stone, Ezekiel** _ **'Zeke'**_ (Peter Horton) – from the TV series Brimstone (1998-1999)

 **K-9 Mark I** (voiced by John Leeson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-?)

 **Monica** (Roma Downey) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)

 **Smith, Jonathan** (Michael Landon) – from the TV series Highway to Heaven (1984-1989)

 **Leela** (Louise Jameson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-1978)

 **The Devil** (John Glover) – from the TV series Brimstone (1998-1999) (mentioned only)

 **Fife, Sherriff Barney** (Don Knotts) – from the TV series The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)

 **Jarod** (Michael T. Weiss) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Mulder, Fox** (David Duchovny) – from the TV series X-Files (1993-2002)

 **Paris, Lt. Tom** (Robert Duncan McNeill) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

 **Hobbes, Agent Robert '** _ **Bobby**_ **'** (Paul Ben-Victor) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Parker, Lt. Frank** (Jonathan LaPaglia) – from the TV series Seven Days (1998-2001)

 **Garak, Elim** (Andrew Robinson) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Langly, Richard** _ **'Ringo'**_ (Dean Haglund) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Frohike, Melvin** (Tom Braidwood) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Welles, Wade** (Sabrina Lloyd) – from the TV series Sliders (1995-1997)

 **Bashir, Dr. Julian** (Siddig El Fadil) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Doctor, The holographic EMH** (Robert Picardo) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001) (mentioned only)

 **Fawkes, Darien** (Vincent Ventresca) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Keeply, Claire** _ **'The Keeper'**_ (Shannon Kenny) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002) (mentioned only)

 **Pierson, Adam / Methos** (Peter Wingfield) – from the TV series Highlander (1995-1998)

 **Steele, Remington** (Pierce Brosnan) – from the TV series Remington Steele (1982-1987)

 **Holt, Laura** (Stephanie Zimbalist) – from the TV series Remington Steele (1982-1987) (mentioned only)

 **Andrew** (John Dye) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003) (mentioned only)

 **Chaney, Lon** – historical figure (mentioned only)

 **Fitzcairn, Hugh** (Roger Daltrey) – from the TV series Highlander (1992-1997) (mentioned only)

 **Dawson, Joe** (Jim Byrnes) – from the TV series Highlander (1993-1998)

 **MacLeod, Connor** (Christopher Lambert) – from the movie Highlander (1986)


	7. Chapter 7

**A TANGLED WEB PART 5: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?**

 **By Charlie Nelson**

 **AuThOr'S NoTeS**

 _There are a lot of characters here. I will have a list of them at the end of the chapter. You can also look them up on the Internet Movie Datebase or Google them._

 **Chapter 7**

 **HALLS OF THE ROSEMONT CONVENTION CENTER**

"Set him down here, dear. I think he is starting to come around."

Lt. Columbo dragged Gil Grissom over to a nearby bench then carefully took the man's arm from over his neck and eased him down.

As Gil groaned, Kate Columbo leaned in close so that she could open his eyes and check to see if his eyes were dilated. Meanwhile, Mr. Columbo surveyed the reason for everybody stopping in his or her mad rush to escape their bizarre attackers. Dana Scully, one of those that seemed to be in authority of the situation, was just a little ahead of him so he knew that whatever was going on had to be happening close by. He saw that she was looking down the hall and he saw the Simon brothers coming from that way in a hurry. Before the lieutenant could get any closer, however, an older bald man, breathing hard and sucking on a lollipop, parked a bearded man in a wheelchair right in front of him, effectively blocking him off thanks to all the other people crowding in. He recognized them as Lt. Theo Kojak and Robert Ironside. He had briefly talked with them while they commiserated with each other about the recent passing of some of their acquaintances: an ex-cop turned high-priced private investigator, Frank Cannon, who died of a heart attack; Detective Mike Stone, a retired police detective from San Francisco who succumbed to Alzhimer's; Detective Tony Baretta of NYC, killed in a sting operation against some crooked cops and the mob; and Barnaby Jones, a private eye who died while making love to a very grateful client.

Unable to go forward, Mr. Columbo turned back to his wife and Mr. Grissom. He had already deduced from the frightened expression of the faces of those accompanying Rick and A.J. Simon that the way was blocked and that they had most likely had another encounter with the cybernetic attackers.

"Dear, what going on?"

Lt. Columbo's heart twisted as he looked into his wife's eyes. "Doesn't look good, honey."

Kate's lips whitened. Then she resumed to loosening Gil's collar and dotting on him like a mother would a sick child. For Gil's part, he was starting to flutter his eyes a little as he began to return to conciseness. Nearby, the police detective saw Amanda King-Stetson and the novelist, Jessica Fletcher, sitting back and catching their breaths as they, too, watched the people that they had rescued start to stir.

A bump from behind him drew his attention to a skinny bearded man dressed in a suit dragging another skinny man who was unconscious.

"Sorry," said the out of breath man as he deposited his burden. He then collapsed next to the man that he had carried and continued to draw in deep breaths of air.

"You all right?"

"Fine. I'm Byers." He saw the detective regarding the man slumped at his side. "That's a friend of mine. Name's Murray Bozinsky."

"The famous inventor turned private investigator?"

"The same." Byers lifted up Murray's head to check out the bruise forming there. "And he's not going to be very happy with me when he comes to."

"Sounds like it's something you can work out." But the detective was not very interested in that as he could see that the security guard, Tess, was calling everybody to order so Dana could be heard.

"People," began the redhead fed. "I've just been informed that the conference halls in the East Wing have been compromised. The exits there have also been blocked." She waited for all the outcries of fear to quiet down before continuing. "We can still try for the North exit. We don't know what we will find there but it's better than just waiting here. We will have to be prepared to fight our way through though."

"Already on that, ma'am." Two people, MacGyver and Hawk came over carrying a number of various cleaning solutions from a nearby janitor's closet that they had broken into. "I believe I can make a number of concussion grenades to clear us a path through those things."

"Can you blow a hole in the wall?" called out Jessica Fletcher.

MacGyver looked at the chemicals they had carefully as he considered. "It's possible. Though, the outer walls looked pretty formidable so I wouldn't bet on it."

"Well, is there any other way to breach the outside wall?" Catherine Parker asked in a demanding tone. The young woman from the Centre was not liking this turn of events and found that being chased all over by who knows what very daunting.

"Again, nothing that I can guarantee," answered MacGyver, who was very aware that he was letting everyone's spirits down.

"Excuse me for interrupting," Lt. Columbo said as he stepped around the wheelchaired man in front of him. "But if all the doors and windows are blocked, and the walls can't be broken down, why not just go over the wall?"

Questioning looks were on everyone's faces, as the detective gave them a minute to think about it. Before anyone asked him anything, however, a pain began in his left earlobe.

"I think everyone would just appreciate the answer without having to ask for it, dear." Mrs. Columbo gave another painful twist to his ear to enunciate her point.

"Ah, I love a feisty woman," the detective said as he stepped away from his wife while rubbing his ear.

"Out with it, man!" demanded Tess. "Time is lives here."

"Of course, of course," he said. "I was merely referring to the roof access…"

"Tess! Can we climb down from the roof safely?" Dana asked, hurriedly.

The security chief shook her head. "It wasn't set up that way, I'm afraid. In their haste to complete the building, and get it open in time, there were a few things left to be added after the opening event. Roof escape ladders were one of those things, I am afraid."

"I can take care of that," MacGyver interjected. "Hawk, go into one of the halls that is still safe and get all thick curtains and rope you can get your hands on." Hawk merely nodded and turned to go, stopping only to point at A.J., Rick and a few others to come help him. "I think we can you some of these liquid soaps and that nearby firehouse to slow down their advance, but I will need some volunteers." He looked around into the scared eyes of those around him hoping for someone to step up. "I won't lie. It will be very dangerous and possibly not even work. But it could save everyone. Hopefully, there may even be some helicopters"

"I-I'll do it," came a quiet answer.

"Broots?" Miss Parker didn't even try to hide her surprise. "You can't be serious?" For a moment she felt the eyes of everyone in the place on her. "I mean, you could get killed."

"Don't worry," replied Sydney, "I'll be staying to help him."

Miss Parker's eyes widened in fear. "You can't both stay!" The tremor in her voice was very obvious. She mentally cursed Jarod for all his noble good deeds rubbing off on others. "I mean, I'm responsible for your safety and I say you are coming with me!"

Sydney had a sad smile on his face. "Say goodbye to your father to me. And when you see Jarod ..." His eyes misted over for a moment but were cleared with a few rapid blinks. "Tell Jarod it was a rare privilege to know someone like him. Goodbye, Catherine."

Miss Parker turned away. Mad at Sydney for abandoning her. Mad at Broots for making the offer of self-sacrifice. Mad at Jarod for being so hard to catch. Mad at her father for putting so much value in Jarod and not in her. Mad at herself for… everything she had let her life become. Walking away from the group of strangers she pulled out her cell phone and made a phone call.

"Um," MacGyver spoke up to break up the awkward moment. "If I could speak with you two about what I have in mind." Broots and Sydney walked over to him, people parting before them, reaching out to touch their shoulders in silent thanks for the risk they were about to undertake.

Dana stepped again, raising her hand to get people to focus on her again. "All right, everybody. We are going to try the roof access as a way out of here. We are going to have to do this in an organized manner. And those more able should help those around you that need your help. Now, since you all have backgrounds in law enforcement, you all know how to keep it together while helping others. Use that, and don't lose control. Now Tess is going to lead the way, so let's keep it together people."

Lt. Columbo watched as his wife helped a groaning Gil Grissom to his feet. Next to them, Byers was trying to get a still knocked out Bozinsky up so that he could drag him again.

"Here, let me help you." Columbo got on the other side of Bozinsky and put the man's arm over his neck. "A skinny guy like this shouldn't be this heavy," he said with a groan.

"Thanks," Byers said with a grunt. The normally neatly dressed Lone Gunmen member was looking rather ragged at the moment. His clothing looked unkempt and was covered with various smudge marks. His hair looked like it belonged to a wild man.

"That's what people do. They help each other in times of need."

"Honey." Kate stepped up in front of him, and gave him a quick kiss. "Time to stop talking and time to get moving."

The lieutenant gave her a wink, then shot Byers a grin. "Nothing like a good woman to keep you on track."

Byers not really knowing what to say since he wasn't used to public displays of affection, just agreed. "Uh, yes sir."

The group all began to move down the hall guided by Tess, leaving Broots and Sydney with MacGyver who was explaining his plan with the firehoses more thoroughly.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **SOMEWHERE IN THE ROSEMONT CONVENTION CENTER**

Duncan managed to keep from groaning as his body worked overtime to heal it of the strange metallic things that had been invading his body. Nothing in his four hundred years of existence had prepared him for this.

He looked at his bare chest, his torn and burned clothes having been removed earlier while he was unconscious. The gray veins that seemed to protrude all over were slowly shrinking much to Duncan's relief.

Out a nearby door, he could see dozens, perhaps hundreds, of people that all seemed to have similar metallic things showing on their skin, patiently waiting in lines in a hypnotic like state. As he watched, one of the occupants of a table near his rose and slowly walked out the door now that it had been fully equipped with the suit and equipment all the finished drones seemed to have. Another complete drone took the arm of one of those first in line to lead him forward. The man being led was a stocky man with brown hair who, after a moment, Duncan recognized as a somewhat well-known stuntman, Colt Seavers. A puncture wound in the man's right arm led the Immortal to conclude that that was where his attackers had injected him.

Nearby, another one of his captors was carefully taking apart some of the inner workings of a two-and-a-half-foot orange robot-like thing that liked like it belonged in a sci-fi movie as a comic relief. Soon the drone had whatever it wanted from the orange robot and set the little piece of circuitry on a shelf. Then it picked up what was left of the orange robot and put it on one of the white platform that he had seen them use before to absorb things, presumably to use as recycled parts or just destroying it.

It was just after he watched the body of the orange robot disappear in a shimmer of light that Duncan saw two of his captors coming forward. He tensed and tried to rise again to no avail. Whatever unseen thing was holding him down was still in place.

Both drones scanned his body with their augmented arms. "Your resistance is futile," said a drone made up of an older Chinese man. "Your biological resistance will be overcome. You will be assimilated."

"Why?" demanded MacLeod, his dry throat scratching painfully. "Why are you doing this?"

The drones did not answer. They both merely plunged their extended tubules into Duncan's chest to reinject him with new modified nanites.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Leela kept herself ahead of the other two young women. She did this to keep the others from running headlong into anything dangerous. Unfortunately, it did not give her much of a chance to do any careful scouting since both Lana and Chloe were in a hurry to catch up with Clark, who himself had run off at super-speed to rescue someone that he had seen with his vision powers.

She passed a place where the hall she was in intersected with another going north and south. Just beyond that, she could see Clark trying to hold down a woman. Nearby, five still drones were strewn about on the ground. Leela held still as she assessed the situation. She understood that Clark had thrown the drones around the room like ragdolls. But his current behavior, Leela found disheartening.

Lana managed to reach Clark just before Chloe did. "Clark? What's the matter?"

Clark looked up with a deep sadness. Tears streamed down his eyes. "I-I saved her. I got her from the attackers. But she won't stay. She isn't all right. They did something to her."

Behind her, Lana could hear Chloe take in a breath in alarm. "Clark, what's wrong with her skin?" asked Chloe.

Lana looked over at the woman Clark had saved. Her skin appeared to be a pasty white and had snake-like grayish veins spreading under her skin. In spite of herself, Lana gave out a little shriek and stepped away. It was when Clark turned to help her that she saw why Clark had been holding her down. The woman moved like something dead coming to life in a horror movie as she got to her feet. She wore a simple blouse that was just bare enough around the neck to show puncture wounds and a larger congregation of the grayish veins. On the right side of her chest she bore a nametag stating ' _Hello, my name is Olivia Benson_ '.

"Kill her," Leela commanded.

"What?" Clark said, looking at her in disbelief.

"She has been infected. There is nothing we can do for her. She is becoming one of them," she said as she spat at one of the nearby downed drones. "Death is a better fate than the one that they have in mind for her."

"I - do not - kill," Clark answered coldly.

The Doctor's warrior companion surveyed the bodies again as she walked around and could tell that Clark told the truth. While some of the unconscious bodies had broken limbs and severe dislocations, none had died or sustained life-threatening injuries. "Very well. I'll take care of it then." Leela's hand shot out, stabbing Olivia, who was starting to walk toward the door leading to the stairs. In Leela's hand was her Janis Thorn, a very poisonous thorn used by her people as a weapon. Olivia Benson froze in position as a result.

Clark was at Olivia's side in a blur. "What did you do to her!" he demanded.

"Paralyzed her for now. It's quite painless." Leela shook her head. Dealing with people that the Doctor calls ' _civilized_ ' under extreme situations always left Leela quite frustrated. Their strange views of things were never very simple or clear. More times than not, the ' _civilized people_ ' that the Doctor spoke so highly of complicated matters worse than they were. There were times when even the Doctor seemed to become tired of them.

Things became even more complicated when Olivia Benson suddenly fell over onto the ground. Chloe bent down to check her vitals. She looked up at Clark and shook her head sadly. Lana gasped in realization. "She's dead!" Clark exclaimed, looking at Leela accusingly.

"It's more merciful," Leela explained as she started to lean over one of the fallen, unconscious drones.

Clark was at her side at an instant and holding her hand with the Janis Thorn tightly. "You are not killing anyone else!"

"What's going on here?" called out the voice of the Doctor.

The others turned to see the Doctor huffing as he hurried down the hall with K-9 following dutifully behind. Lex Luthor was coming a little slower with Mark Gordon, who was getting rather out of breath. Ezekiel Stone and Kenny were ahead of the Doctor, but had stopped to examine one of the fallen drones. Kenny, the Immortal boy, poked at it with his machete much like a kid would poke a stick at a dead frog and Ezekiel was doing his best to not try to discipline him like he would any other child.

"Doctor! She killed a woman!" Clark held up Leela's hand with the Janis Thorn accusingly.

The Doctor shook his head as he closed the distance between them. "Leela, I told you to never-"

"Danger, master," K-9 called out. The little unit sped forward as it circled around to the front of his master.

The nearby stairwell near the intersection opened up and six Borg drones filed out facing Clark and those near him. The Doctor, on the west side of the hall and in back of the drones, called out to K-9, "Fire, K-9, fire!"

The little computerized companion of the Doctor's fired a volley of destructive energy beams from his nose nozzle, but only managed to destroy two of the drones before the Borg adapted to the weapons being used against it. Still, the drones did not even turn to face them. Their objective seemed to be Leela's group.

"I'll stop them," Clark said as he let go of Leela. He started walking toward them while red beams seemed to scan over him from their eyes. Lana and Chloe hurried in back of Clark and then moved further to be in back of Leela.

Nearby three of the drones that Clark had previously thrown around started to rise to their feet. Kenny yelped in surprise as the one he had been poking at started to move, but swiftly removed the drone's head with his machete, by reflex, before it could do anything.

"Clark, I think it's you they want," the Doctor said as he tried to explain. "Your aggressive display against them has brought you to their attention of things to be immediately dealt with. Also, your physiology is unique to them so they will want to add it to their own. It's one of their main directives." One of the rising drone's turned toward the Doctor and his group. "Come to think of it, some of the rest of us have rather unique physiologies, too," the Doctor commented to himself with a touch of worry in his voice.

Ezekiel rushed the drone concentrating on them only to be stunned within a few feet of his goal. Kenny, the boy Immortal, threw his machete in such a manner that would have embedded the blade deep in the drone's chest had the drone not deflected it with it's arm. Kenny's surprise led him to quickly backpedal away until he bumped into Mark Gordon. K-9 continued to try to blast the drone but the robot dog's efforts were for naught due to the personnel shielding that protected each drone. The drone brought his augmented arm around and fired a disabling shot into little K-9 rendering it inert. Lex and the Doctor gave each other a quick look knowing they were in deep trouble.

Meanwhile, Clark was advancing on the drones in front of him. They had fanned out in front of the young Kryptonian while one of the battered drones struggled to its feet a little behind him. Just a few feet away, the drones, even the battered one, bent down so that their prosthetic arms were resting on the floor. As they raised their arms again, a small thin rod covered in circuitry was revealed imbedded in the floor where the Borg appendages had been. Then, before Clark could even wonder what they were doing, a wall of energy appeared between the rods. It only took him a second to realize that he was trapped like a goldfish in an oddly angled fishbowl.

Clark could hear Lana and Chloe calling out to him, but he focused his attention on the wall before him as if he couldn't hear them. In an instant he took off toward the energy barrier at full speed. At the last possible moment, he swung hard with his fist to hit it with the transparent obstruction.

Lana and Chloe clung to each other in comfort as the shield in front of them light up in a brilliant display of light caused when Clark hit the energy barrier. Both young women blinked spots out of their eyes in an effort to see what had happened. Inside the enclosed barrier lay a groaning Clark, who was rocking back and forth holding his blackened hand.

Both young women rushed forward, stopping only right before the barrier to call for Clark. It wasn't until the battered Borg unit that was on their side of the barrier got completely to its feet did Lana and Chloe react to it.

Unfortunately, it was too late for them to do anything, whether it be to defend themselves or run away. Luckily, Leela had been raised in a much sterner environment. The leather-clad woman from the Sevateem tribe quickly placed herself in front of the intended target of the two women and braced herself. Tubules lashed out. Leela blocked the drone's attempt to inject her with her knife as if she were knocking back a snake. Being close enough, Leela brought her hunting knife up from underneath the drone's guard and jammed it to the hilt up under its jaw. She pulled it out as quickly as she slid it in with a low grunt. Then she kicked the staggering body in the midst of its death throws away before it could possibly damage her or the two women the Doctor had told her to protect.

"Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!" Lana repeated into her hands that she held over her mouth, her eyes wide with shock, fear and horror as she stared at the dead body.

Chloe was also taken aback. Still, her reporter instincts kicked in and she managed to keep her head. While reporters did their best to get to where the action was, they also had self-preservation instincts that would kick in at the last minute to keep them alive so that they could live to report the news. Chloe grabbed Lana and backed away with her to the side of the wall where there was a fake tree set up to add a touch of the outdoorsy effect. There she had them both crouch down to watch and wait.

One of the drones that had entrapped the Kryptonian specimen stepped through the energy barrier as if it wasn't even there. Tubules in the Korean drone's arm extended as it was about to engage it's chosen target. Only the intended victim had other plans.

Clark rolled out of the way with his super-speed. Then while still laying on the floor, he kicked up at the drone, sending the flailing attacker flying back through the transparent shield and into another drone that had been standing by.

Clark was immediately to his feet. He still held his hand tenderly to his side, but he raced around the enclosed space to see if he could now get through the barrier. In two seconds, he had ensured himself the he was entrapped as well as before. Whatever means the Borg used to go through the barrier they had set up would not let him through.

Two more drones stepped through the energy barrier. Clark groaned. "Don't you… things learn? I'm not about to let you near-" The two drones fired at Clark, hitting him in the chest. Clark hit the floor hard in a great deal of pain.

"Ooooh, I so don't want to do that again," he muttered with clenched teeth. His head was spinning and lights seemed to flash on and off before his eyes. From somewhere he could hear Lana and Chloe telling him to get up, to get out of there. He knew he had to do something. Getting up was not an option. And getting through those energy walls was something that Clark wasn't sure how to do yet. But maybe he didn't have to go through them.

Clark lifted up his arms and hit the floor with all his might, following it with several more blows, until there was a hole in the floor big enough for him to fall down. He received four more shots in his back from the Borg, but still managed to crawl down the hole he had made into whatever was below before the drones could reach him.

The Doctor grappled almost frantically with a drone. He wasn't alone as Lex was struggling to hold the drone's other arm. Doing his best to remember the data the Starfleet doctors had given him, the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver at one of its highest settings. The drone convulsed slightly, before it slid senselessly to the floor.

The Doctor breathed a breath of relief. "Well, one done. Only a couple more to go." His breath left him once he saw Lex. The bald young man had all the symptoms of those recently injected with the Borg nanites. Grayish veins were slowly spreading up his neck and face as the body of Lex Luthor slowly fell to the floor.

"What?" Mark almost dropped the body of Ezekiel Stone that he had been dragging. To Stone's credit, the resurrected man seemed to be recovering from the stun beam that had hit him at an exceptional rate, but was not yet ready to stand on his own. "What happened to Lex?" asked Mark, deeply startled.

"He's one of them now," Kenny answered straight to the point. The youngish looking Immortal was carrying the non-responding K-9 unit, which had little whiffs of smoke rising from it. "What do we do now, oh great and powerful time-lord?"

Looking beyond the sarcastic Immortal, the Doctor could see the other drones turning their attention towards them. "I think it would be to our best interest to run!"

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Monica and Jonathan stood midst the drones watching Leela leading Lana and Chloe away at a run. In exactly the opposite direction, the Doctor and his group left leaving Lex alone with the Borg. No one threatened the two angels, however. The drones would have attempted to add them to their number if they were allowed to perceive them, though any such attempt would have failed.

"Will Lex recover?" Monica asked the more experienced angel with traces of concern in her voice.

"I do not know."

"But God must have had a reason for Mark reaching out to Lex? He was supposed to show him a new path. Lex was even responding." Monica was vexed. She didn't like it when things took a turn for the worst.

"God's reasons are not for us to always understand. At least not yet." Jonathan wished to ease the frustration that the younger angel was feeling but he only had words right now. He could sense that she wanted something more tangible than that. "You have to have faith, Monica. Even in the midst of all this, God can work miracles that even we can't see yet."

"Oh, please stop with all that dribble." The Devil stepped around a drone that could not see him as he walked up to the two angels. His Human form, lecherous in appearance, belied the true malevolent being that was within. "You can't tell me that even in all this death," he waved his hand at the nearby drone that Kenny had decapitated, "and assimilation," he gestured with his other hand at Lex who was being led away by a drone to the door to the stairs, "that you believe God is truly in control here? If so what kind of God is he to allow things like this to occur? Even I'm not that despicable!"

"Aren't you?" Monica stood her ground. "You say that you would let everyone do whatever they wanted, however they wanted to do it. Just as long as they called you master or didn't turn to the one and only God. But in reality, if you were in charge of their lives to the extent you desire, you'd control the lost souls of the world much like the Borg control their drones."

The Devil sneered, but he was amused. "I'm glad I wasn't that transparent when I convinced a number of our brethren to come to my way of thinking." He regarded Jonathan, dismissing the younger angel with a glance. "You've taught your little protégé well, but that still doesn't excuse God for allowing things like this from happening."

"She's not my protégé. If anyone would be allowed to claim her as that, it would be Tess."

The Devil winced in spite of himself. "That old battle-ax is running around here? And you say that I'm mean?"

"I say that you are evil." Jonathan stepped up close, closing the distance between them. "And as for God allowing this, you know as well as I that God has to allow a number of things to occur for the sake of free will. That doesn't mean that God doesn't care for them. You more than anyone knows what God does to help them through every crisis, whether they know it or not."

"Thank Jesus," murmured Monica prayerfully.

"Don't say that name near me!" screamed the Devil. His body visible trembled both in anger and in fear.

"Then leave us."

"Oh, I'll leave. I have to check on a few things of my own." The Devil grinned at the two angels before him to prove he wasn't afraid of them. "But I will be back. You can count on that." He slowly faded from their view leaving only his laughter behind.

The two angels shrugged. Then left themselves. The Devil wasn't the only one that had other things to check on.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Joe let the broken brick pieces fall to the floor. "Wouldn't want to meet whatever came through here." Using his cane, Joe Dawson backed away from the hole inside of the wall. What really surprised him was that whatever it was that had made the hole had been trying to get in and not out.

Stepping closer to the transparent force field that covered the entrance and nearby windows, the gray-haired, bearded Watcher tapped it with his cane and watched it light up as a result. "This can't get much weirder," muttered the old veteran.

He had been investigating the apparent bizarre kidnapping of Duncan MacLeod as reported by Carl Kolchak. Soon after Connor and he had arrived and began checking out the strange sight of the force field and the man-sized hole in the convention center wall, Adam Pierson shows up with another Immortal, Remington Steele. The Watchers hadn't even known that they knew each other.

Adam Pierson was a sore subject for Joe. When he had first found out that the man was an Immortal, he was sure that Adam had been using the Watcher database, which kept track of the whereabouts of all Immortals being watched, to do some selective headhunting. But after checking through the database and checking dates, Joe had been unable to discover any unexplained beheadings when Adam was around. Quite the opposite, in fact. Whenever any Immortals were reported nearby, Adam would leave the city, usually under the guise of having uncovered another clue to some of the history of the legendary Immortal, Methos.

Adam's running from danger made Joe want to consider him a coward, but Duncan had insisted that Adam was actually very good with the sword. That left Joe with the conclusion that Adam was after the Immortal holy grail, the legendary quickening of Methos, a five-thousand-year-old Immortal that no one was even sure was still alive or even existed. The uncovering of Methos' trail through history had been Adam's pet project when he had been a part of the Watcher organization. Now some new kid had taken it over, but had nowhere near the success that Adam had had. Joe had asked Duncan what he had thought of the probability of Methos being alive after all these years with so many headhunters after him. His Scottish friend just laughed and said some myths are more alive than the people that they are based on.

Now that it was known that Adam is one of the Immortals, he was banned from the Watchers. There had even been serious talk of taking his head. Immortals that knew about the Watchers were a considerable taboo subject these days. It had left Joe feeling very awkward and exposed standing next to Connor MacLeod when Adam and Remington had drove up.

Connor had seemed almost eager to instigate a fight, but Joe had reminded him that these were friends of Duncan's and were most likely also here to help him. It was only after Adam pointed out that the convention center had been built on the site of an old church and Connor had bent down to confirm that it was actually holy ground that Connor settled down. Joe had been surprised at that, but chalked it up to being another one of those things that you can only learn when you have close contact with an Immortal and not just watch them from a distance.

Remington and Adam seemed to be more than willing to work with the sullen and moody Scot to find his clansman. Remington Steele even made a point to compare them to the three musketeers, citing the actors and movie year much to Joe's amusement. The three Immortals had quickly moved through the opening in the wall. They all knew that time was of the essences if they were to rescue Duncan before the authorities got there and started asking all sorts of awkward questions such as why they all carried swords. That left Joe, the cripple, to remain behind to his own thoughts.

The growing number of reports of beheadings around the world as well as the unrest that more and more Immortals seem to display in each others presence was confirming Joe's conclusion more and more that the time of the Gathering - the final Game - was coming soon. Soon he found himself contemplating what the end result would be.

The prize that the last surviving Immortal was to receive. What could possibly be worth striving so long against others to win? Some of the theorists in the Watcher organization thought maybe the final survivor of the Game might receive Immortality and the ability to have children. Or maybe they would become the ruler of all the Humans of the world - which is one of the reasons that many of the Watchers silently rooted for the MacLeods. Or more likely the last Immortal will have all the abilities and memories from all the quickenings that had been taken and use them for whatever purpose they want. Joe's own idea was that the whole Game had to do with Good and Evil. He wasn't exactly sure what that meant exactly, but the very fact that Immortals wouldn't take each others heads or even fight each other while on holy ground had to mean something. And those few times someone broke that tradition resulted in incidents like Pompeii - so as far as Joe was concerned, God had some hand in this, but what the card game was Joe had no idea.

Lost in thought while contemplating the hole in the wall, Joe didn't hear the drone coming up to him until it was right behind him. The crunching sound behind him alerted him enough to turn to see the black and technologically clad drone on the other side of the force field.

"What are-"

Joe's questions were silenced as the drone stepped through the force field with its tubules extended.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Fox Mulder pulled the van up as close as he could to the steps leading up to what appeared to be a force field covering the windows and doors of the foyer of the convention center. While this was not the only entrance to the building, it was the main one. And from what he could see to the north, a similar barrier had been erected. On the south side, the hotel seemed untouched. A number of people were starting to come out with expressions of confusion on their faces, but Mulder judged that they had been spared simply because at the time of the Borg attack more people had been in the convention hall. And from what Mulder could remember the Borg seemed to be driving the people away from the hotel and further into the convention center.

"That wasn't there before," commented Jared.

Galen and his apprentice, Dureena Nafeel, shimmered into view beside the white van. Galen pointed toward the force field. "There are two people, each one is like the two that you brought with you."

Mulder grinned like the Mad Hatter out his window at the techno-mage. "Thought you weren't going to make the trip."

Galen regarded the white van with a little amusement. "Not in that quaint vehicle. We have our own means of travel that are nowhere near as cramped as the space in there. Besides, I prefer to not transport myself in vessels that have explosive devices built into them."

The white van quickly emptied of all its passengers.

Admiral Paris was the first to be able to express his feelings about having such information withheld. "Are you saying that you knowingly let us travel in a vehicle with a bomb on board?"

Galen shrugged, but was willing to explain. "I did incapacitate it first. But I wished to be able to track any signals that may have been sent to detonate it."

"All right, mistakes were made. From now on everybody keeps everyone else informed, okay?" Mulder didn't wait to see if they agreed with him or not. Sirens and red flashing lights had him reaching for his badge as the first police car to the scene started to pull up. "I'll deal with this. You try to get us inside that building."

Tom Paris regarding the arriving police car. "They sure took their time getting to an event like this. I'd have thought that the local law enforcement and medical personnel would have arrived faster at an incident such as this in the late twentieth century."

"Mulder and I heard on the radio earlier of a fire in the downtown Seattle area," commented Jarod, with a thoughtful look. "That must be where most of the police are at. They probably won't be rushing over too fast because whoever is in charge probably figures that help would be easy to come by in a convention hall full of people with law enforcement experience."

Not far away, Lennier carefully examined the hole in the wall. The Minbari alien slowly moved his hands over the edge of the entrance as he contemplated its origin with his eyes closed. "May I help you, Mr. Bester?" he said to the man behind him.

The telepath was impressed in spite of himself. He had been very careful about not making any noise while coming up behind the Minbari. "Just seeing what has captivated your interest. A very nice hole into this archaic structure."

"The structure is actually quite new; the design is just archaic because of the time period from which we come." Lennier pointed out. "I am more interested in whatever object it was that made this hole. The spread of fragments from whatever caused this are imbedded in the inner wall. Since there are no signs of explosion material, I must conclude that something hit the wall at an incredible velocity."

"Yeah, whatever," muttered the telepath while looking around.

"Have you finished scanning the building?" Lennier asked.

Bester frowned. But did not deny it. "Yes, if you must know."

"And what did you find out," he asked, wiping the dirt from his hands.

Alfred Bester sighed, feeling rather bored. "A lot of frightened people running here and there. It was actually very annoying to try get anything that make any sense out of it all." He paused, and made a decision. "There was also something else - something very alien, yet not alien – a very complex thought pattern that seemed to resonate from many different places. Easy to see but impossible to decipher."

"Most likely that was the Borg that you sensed."

Bester nodded at the conclusion. "Whatever it was they seemed very focused. All the noise from the thoughts I was hearing is giving me a headache."

Lennier turned to regard the Human telepath. "I could teach you some of the techniques that Minbari telepaths use after a rough encounter."

Bester spat. "You think Human telepaths need your Minbari methods? We are stronger and we are united! We have found out more things on our own about our abilities in the short time that my people have been able to develop than your people have been able to do in thousands of years!"

Lennier bowed his head. "Very well. If you do not wish to share in Minbari methods, I will not mention them further to you." Lennier turned his attention back to his study of the rubble dispersal.

Bester glowered at the Minbari. The audacity of the bony-ridged alien miffed the Human telepath. He knew he didn't dare do anything that might attract the attention of the others just then, but the others wouldn't always be there.

At the top of the steps, at the edge of the force field, Guinan stood silently, her hand gripped tightly around the phaser-rifle that she carried while looking at the area the drone and its new abductee had retreated. "Q, if I could shoot you right now, I would. Even though I know that it wouldn't harm you."

"That Q person is responsible for all this?"

Montgomery Scott had been standing a little behind the El-Aurian using a tricorder he had modified to scan the Borg barrier.

"You were dragged into all this rather abruptly," Guinan commented thoughtfully. "Yes, Q is responsible for this mess. And a good number of others."

"Let me guess. He's one of those powerful beings that has a ' _god_ ' complex."

Guinan took a second to regard the famous engineer of the Enterprise-A who was known by his nickname, Scotty. "That's about right."

"Yeah, we used to run into those type all the time when I was younger," he commented while still mentally compounding numbers in his head.

"From what I remember of your abilities you could do just about anything with machines."

Scotty still didn't look up from his tricorder to her baiting praise.

"Think you can do something about these barriers?" she asked more directly.

"From what I'm seeing in this tricorder, it would be practically impossible."

"Then you can't do it," she said, a little let down.

Scotty finally looked up from his tricorder. "I said it would be ' _practically impossible_ '. That doesn't mean I can't do it. The variance that they are using for this shield configuration may be tough, but it does not mean that I cannot take it down. All I need is a little more time. At least an hour."

"That person doesn't have an hour," Guinan commented absently to herself.

"Perhaps we can be of assistance." Galen and his apprentice, Dureena Nafeel, stepped over near Guinan to examine one of the staffs the Borg had set up to create the force field barrier. "This device seems to be the most likely place to get the information that we need."

"But it has shielded itself, too, so how do you expect to get at it?" asked Dureena. She was a quick study, and a natural at looking for ways around barriers, which made her such a good candidate for the Thieves Guild in her younger years.

"Well, that part is easy." Scotty poked a few more times at his tricorder. "If you can just match the frequency that they are using for their force field, you can walk right through it like it wasn't even there. But the hard part is getting the right frequency."

"Yes, I see what you mean." Galen bent down to examine the slender staff. Then he reached through the transparent barrier and ran his hand up the Borg device as he examined it

"How-" began Scotty in utter bewilderment.

"Shush," insisted Dureena. "Can't you see that he is concentrating?" Ignoring any other comments that Scotty might have, she attuned herself to watching the techno-mage at work. Galen would be asking her relevant questions about what he had done later.

"Fascinating piece of equipment," remarked Dureena's teacher. "I don't think I can turn it off from here, but I may be able to salvage something that we can use." He opened up a side panel that was shaped like a rather long, thin rectangle. "It has many more features than I would expect in something this size. A micro-generator, energy collectors, a complex sensor array." His hand touched what each part of it was as he named it. "Ah, a communications unit. Yes, that would be very useful to us." Galen extended his other hand into the field as well so that he could remove the device. Guinan and Scotty watched in reluctant wonder.

After giving the communications unit in the staff a tug, Galen quickly pulled his hands away. The area around the field momentarily flared up in bright pink and bluish sparks before turning transparent again.

"What happened?" Guinan found herself asking.

"It seemed to sense me. The communication device itself seemed to sense me. If I had not been prepared for the possibility of the variance sequence changing, I'd have never gotten my hands out intact." The techno-mage seemed very upset over the matter. "But how could it sense me?"

"The Borg are as one with their machines. We were not exaggerating when we told you that." Guinan sent him a look as if to say he should have known better.

Dureena tapped a careful pattern of her wrist, making only minor adjustment to the pattern that she had seen her teacher tap on his own seemingly bare wrist before attempting to reach through the barrier. All she needed now was a distraction.

"We have to get moving," Admiral Paris said with a frustrated tone. Behind him came his son, Tom, dragging his feet. "I've just been in contact with that popinjay, the Doctor. He's already brought his team inside instead of waiting for us like he was supposed to."

"Sir, he said that he didn't have much choice," Tom added to the absent Doctor's account.

"And he also said that he had lost over half of his team," criticized the admiral.

"His group got split up. Sir." One of the things that Tom hated about his father was that there were times when the admiral went head to head with someone like the Doctor, who was not very military minded, that he'd become almost childish as he vented his frustration.

"If they had listened to orders, we'd have a better force to-"

"What do you think that you are doing?" Scotty exclaimed in shock.

The others turned as well to where his attention was focused. Dureena already had her hands through the field of energy as she examined the Borg technology that Galen had already tried to retrieve.

"Dureena," began Galen in a very quiet voice. "Come away from there. It's very dangerous."

She shook her head. "I've almost got it." She carefully worked with the little tools that she had had in her sleeve. "Almost got it." Finally, the unit was disconnected from the rest of the device and she brought it back through the force field. "Here it is." She held it out for her teacher's inspection. "A techno-mage can do many things, but some things are still best left up to a thief." Behind her, the shield fluctuated slightly for a moment, and then stabilized.

Galen ignored the comment. "You put a relay circuit in its place so that it wouldn't know that the communication device had been taken."

"Exactly. Standard stuff for people of my former profession."

Galen raised his brow. He didn't think for a second that Durenna had given up being a thief. She placed the device in the palm of his hand. He didn't say anything, but he found it to be utterly fascinating. At once he began inspecting the prize and its uses more closely.

After a time of everyone watching the pensive techno-mage and his apprentice staring at the small device in Galen's hand, Tom spoke up. "Fox and Jarod are coming. I think we had better get in this place before any more police show up. I doubt Fox will be able to convince everybody in authority to let us in there."

Tom's father looked over at the hole in the wall that the Doctor's team had made. "Very well. The Doctor is probably in the need of rescuing again by now anyway."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Tess fumbled with the keys to find the particular one that she needed for the roof access hatch. She had refused to let any of the men climb the metal ladder steps up to open the hatch. Even though she was an angel, right now she didn't know if the Borg had already taken over the roof or not. Since she was more concerned with everyone else's wellbeing than her own, she was determined to expose herself to danger first. Being an angel, she wasn't too worried about herself. She had all these people to help.

She pushed the hatch up and after a little effort, managed to climb up and look around. The early evening air was refreshing and in the distance, she could hear the sound of approaching sirens.

"No sign of them up here," she called down to Dana and the others.

Dana patted Gil Grissom on the back. "Go check it out."

Grissom hurried up the ladder, followed by the mysterious woman, Miss Parker, who was armed with a .45. Their job was to check out the perimeter to make sure that they were safe. Their secondary objective was to see if they could find a safe way down for everyone. Lt. Columbo and his wife, Kate, then climbed up the ladder as well. They had volunteered to stay on top to help people to get to the top.

Dana stayed to the back as people began climbing. She looked back watching and waiting for MacGyver and his people. Dana had done her part. She had gotten the people to the roof; MacGyver's part was to come up with a means of getting them down.

"Dana?"

Dana turned to find John Byers next to her. Oddly, even though the skinny man was not able to offer much in the way of protection, she felt comforted in his presence. "Everything all right, John?"

John gave a look of exhaustion. "Dana, we've been attacked by creatures from another world. Nothing is all right." He let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm sure that Mulder is enjoying this moment. At least more than we are."

She looked back at the people climbing the ladder to see a number of people trying to push a gray-bearded man who was crippled up the ladder. "I think we are at least more comfortable than he is for the moment."

"Dana," John began, but stopped for a moment to shudder. "I don't want to die."

Dana nodded. "I don't want to either. That's why we are going to do whatever we can to survive this."

The door to the stairwell, which was twenty-five feet from where they were, slammed open. Both the FBI agent and the conspiracy theorist jumped at the sound. So did all those that were by the ladder.

"Hey, you think you can give us a little help here," called out Rick Simon, his arms full of cloth as he was pulling the top of a curtain to a stage.

Dana waved over to some of the people who hadn't made it up the ladder yet. Dana and John grabbed a section of the curtain and began lifting it up. They could see A.J. Simon midway down the stairs breathing heavy as he lifted his section.

"Come on, people!" Dana called out, hoping to encourage some of those that had been dragging their feet. "The faster that we do this, the faster we all get out of here."

John leaned in close to ask the question that many people were wondering about. "How is a long, thick curtain supposed to get us off the roof safely?"

Dana shook her head. "I've no idea. Have to ask MacGyver once he gets up here." _If he gets here_ , she thought to herself.

They hefted their load down the hall to where the roof access was. "Do you think that Mulder found any help for Langly?"

Dana let one of the men lifting the curtain up to the roof take her section. "Why don't I call him and find out?" she said, pulling her cell phone out of her purse.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Broots pulled the firehose to the side so that Doug Penhall could help his brother, Joey, who had been wounded, get past without tripping.

Sydney stood nearby, with a couple gallons of liquid soap. "Do you need a hand?"

"I got him," answered Doug. Joey gritted his teeth and moved the best he could under the circumstances, his side had been hastily wrapped and blood had already bled through in some areas.

"How many more are coming?" Broots asked nervously.

Doug didn't even turn to answer the question, but he did answer it. "I don't know. Five or eight, if you mean our guys. If you mean those creatures, probably twenty or thirty."

"Head up the stairs, then take a right when you get to the top. The others believe they have found a way out."

Broots, already sweating, shifted uncomfortably. Sydney had them both behind a counter that had been nearby the firehose and also, thank God, near an exit to the stairs. While it wasn't the best cover, it did offer some protection.

Broots looked over at Sydney. "I think that we should soap up the area before it's too late."

Sydney frowned, but understood the other man's point, even if it had been created in fear. "We volunteered to do this to give everyone a chance to escape these creatures. I think that should include those that were in the first line of defense." He looked hard into Broots eyes. "We owe it to them to give them a chance to get clear." After all the questionable things they had done in the name of the Centre, Sydney felt he had a lot to atone for. He had already began working on trying to reclaim his humanity and sense of honor by helping to free Jarod from the Centre years ago. Since then he has quietly tried to help the runaway Pretender from within the Centre. He has also tried to reach out to Catharine Parker, who he had watched slowly be corrupted from an early age.

Groaning, Broots settled into his stool. It had been easier to be heroic and volunteer when the Borg were no longer close, but with them closing on their location, Broots began to have regrets. "Do you think that Miss Parker is safe yet?"

"Catharine can look after herself. I'm sure she will be fine." Broots noticed that Sydney didn't mention how they would do. He wasn't about to ask either since it didn't look that good. Besides, they could hear approaching footsteps.

Broots lifted up the firehose and put the nozzle on the top of the counter ready to fire. Sydney reached over and put a steady hand on Broots's shoulder. "Wait a moment," Sydney said calmly.

"You should put out the soap! It'll work better with the soap!" insisted Broots.

Sydney picked up one of the five gallon buckets that they had filled with liquid soap and any other slippery substance that they could find in a janitor's closet. Carefully walking around the counter so as not to spill, he headed down the hall to where the sound of running feet were coming from.

"Hurry!" cried out Broots. "Spread it and get to cover!"

Sydney set down the heavy bucket and gestured for Broots to wait a minute. Down the hall, two older men, breathing hard, hurried his way. Lennie Briscoe seemed to be breathing enough for five men, but that did not seem to slow him down or keep him from pulling along the other man, Roger Murtaugh.

"Are there more of you coming?" Sydney asked

Briscoe nodded. Murtaugh didn't even acknowledge Sydney's presence. The black man with the graying hair just kept muttering to himself. "How am I going to tell her? She'll want to see him, and he'll be gone. How am I going to tell her? I was supposed to be there for him." His thoughts were on his partner of many years, Martin Riggs.

"Everything all right?"

Briscoe just gasped. "Where… others?"

"Up the stairs. They are trying a way out on the roof."

Briscoe's eyes rolled. "It'd have… to be… stairs."

As Briscoe headed toward the stairs with the barely responding Roger Murtaugh, three more people hurried down the hall. Sydney only recognized one of them. "Mr. Stetson, I take it that you are the last we can expect of friendly faces."

"The Borg are right behind us," answered Lee. "They may not be fast moving, but they are persistent. What are you doing down here?"

"Last line of defense," replied Sydney. Then he told them of MacGyver's plan to slow down the Borg. He also began spreading around the liquid or the floor. When they were all behind the counter again, Broots sprayed the floor to make it sudsy as well as slippery, while Lee introduced Sydney to Thomas Hooker and Thomas Magnum. Magnum was still a little disoriented and was sipping a coke that had been set behind the counter.

"We did everything we could to stop them," said Hooker. "But we only slowed them down."

"Hopefully that will be enough to get everybody to safety," commented Magnum.

"If not, then we can slow them down a little more here. Right, Broots?" Sydney said. "Broots, turn off the hose, or you'll wash away all the soap."

With some reluctance, Broots turned off the firehose. But he did not turn from the direction that the Borg was coming. "How long?" he asked.

"Any time now," answered Lee.

Sydney stepped over and took the hose from Broots tense grip. "Go over by the stairs. I've got it from here."

Before Broots could thank him, the first of the drones arrived. The five Humans watched as the head drone stopped in front of the watery area seemingly to consider something.

"Hey, I recognize him," Thomas Hooker said as he pointed to the drone. "That's Jim Rockford. He's a California PI. I met him on the first day of the convention. We were supposed to meet again for breakfast the next morning, but he never showed up."

"And now you know why," commented Magnum.

The Borg drone that had been Jim Rockford, raised its augmented arm. A beam of light went out from the arm and began clearing the area of moisture and soap.

"Oh, now that's not fair," remarked Magnum.

"Then let's fix it." Sydney hoisted the firehose. Taking aim, he unleashed the water pressure built up in the hose on the drones just twenty-five feet away. The Jim Rockford drone was knocked back into those behind him, knocking five altogether off their feet.

"Now you have to try something different," advised Lee.

"I think this is working just fine," Sydney said, aiming for some of the drones further back.

"You don't understand," Lee said. "You haven't faced them. They can't be defeated the same way twice. At least not for very long."

"What are you talking about?" Before Sydney could question him any further, he noticed that the drones that he sprayed with the water were no longer falling down. The newer ones coming down the hall didn't even seem to be getting wet. One of the drones fired, and Sydney fell senselessly to the floor behind the counter.

Broots leaped onto the flailing firehose before it could hurt anyone and he shut it off. "What now?" he asked to the others huddled behind the counter.

Lee Stetson and Thomas Hooker were picking up Sydney's body off the floor. Thomas Magnum grabbed one of the remaining gallon buckets of soap. "I say we give your original plan a try."

"What?" cried out Broots. "They dried it out before they even stepped in it."

"Then spray it under their feet!" Magnum said as he hoisted another bucket out onto the floor in front of the drones.

Broots almost froze. Then he saw Sydney dangling between Stetson and Hooker. _If I do this, I could save him_ , he thought. _I could save them all_. Opening the valve, Broots aimed the spout of water at the spilled contents of the bucket. While shouting and attempting to weave around so as to be a harder target, he used the water to push the soapy substance around the floor and closer to the approaching drones.

A number of the drones did slip; some even fell as a result. Broots watched out of the corner of his eye as Hooker and Stetson headed up the stairs carrying the burden of an unconscious Sydney. Magnum had tossed over the rest of the chemicals that they had planned on using, leaving no more ammo for Broots to you. "Now what," he yelled over the noise of the hose.

Magnum looked around. "There!" he pointed. "An electrical outlet!"

Broots gave a quick burst of water there, then immediately shut of the water before it made contact. The drones jerked a little at the electrical current in the water, but were otherwise unharmed.

"What now?" asked Broots. But before he could find out the answer to that, he had been stunned by one of the Borg.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Claire Keeply stared in horrific wonder at the gland that had recently been such a big part of her life. It only made matters worse that she had been part of the medical team to take it out of Darien's head.

Darien was dead now. Decapitated even. He had been so lively a personality and overcome so much that she had almost thought he'd survive anything. Of course, alien invaders had not been one the things that she had factored into that equation.

She knew Bobby had felt guilty about Darien's death. He had actually purposefully left himself open when she hit him in the face when she found out how Darien had died. Shortly after that he had gotten a phone call from one of those shadowy government figures. Evidently Hobbes had contacted some of this fellow ' _Archangel's_ ' special ops without his approval. He had sounded even more upset that his special ops was actually responding to Bobby's call even though Bobby hadn't any authority for a mission.

Claire didn't care about that. What she did care about was Darien's legacy, which was also Darien's brother's legacy. The gland lay on a white platform where the strangely attired Dr. Bashir had somehow removed all the grayish veins that had come to infest it. He had also said that he should be able to implant the gland without much trouble. He even said he should be able to implant safeguards so that would stop quicksilver madness from ever happening again with use of the gland. And even though he didn't say it, he seemed impressed with the quicksilver abilities that the gland would provide to its host.

Dr. Bashir had been very understanding of her grief. He had offered to do the procedure of removing the quicksilver gland without her after asking her a few relevant questions about it. She had declined. In spite of herself, she found the doctor and his futuristic tools fascinating, though she still found that she often had tears blocking her view. She was determined not to break down now. She would make all this count for Darien's sake, and then she would have a long cry when she can afford it.

Julian Bashir seemed like such a regular person that she would have never guessed that he was from some futuristic parallel world, but his uniform and super-scientific tools more than supported that explanation. His companion, Garak, a reptilian humanoid, reminded her of some of the special agents that she had run into over the years. James Bond, Napoleon Solo, John Steed, Michael Knight, Ethan Hunt, Matt Helm. Arrogant, witty, and oh so sure of themselves. Yet this Garak seemed to have a more, dare she say it, human side that he would show from time to time. When the pastor of the church that were using first saw Garak, he had thought it was some Hollywood costume. When he found out otherwise, Pastor Kenton Powell tried to cast him out as a demon. Needless to say, that didn't work. The Cardassian spent a while telling Kenton of where he was from and why they were there. It didn't take long for Kenton to admit to having watched a lot of the Sci-fi channel. After that, Kenton spent most of his time sitting on the steps of the church with Frank Parker to encourage the more insistent of the curiosity seekers to leave well enough alone. Meanwhile, Garak had taken to discussing conspiracy theories with Frohike as a distraction while the nanites were being purged from his fellow Lone Gunmen, Langly's body.

"Dr. Bashir?" she asked.

Julian looked over at her.

"Will we be able to clean out the metallic invaders from Ms. Welles body as well as Mr. Langly's?" she asked, as a means to distract herself.

He sighed. "They are called nanites. And I dare not until I can get her mentally stabilized. But your friend, Mr. Hobbes, stated that he could provide us with the means to do so shortly. I believe that was what most of those calls he made were about," he stated as almost an inquiry.

 _I have no idea how he's going to keep that promise either_ , Claire thought to herself. "Bobby has lots of contacts in his line of business. If he says that he can provide something, he usually can."

"That's good," he said. He took a moment to run the tricorder over Darien's gland during which Claire tensed. "Everything seems fine here."

"Any reason it shouldn't?"

"I have it in a mild form of stasis," he explained. "But it will still have to be transplanted into someone in the next twenty-four hours. Or it won't work at all. The gland will die and its abilities will benefit no one."

In spite of herself she looked to the kitchen door where Pastor Powell had taken Darien's head after the gland had been removed. "Then we have to find someone to put it into. Someone that can be trusted not to misuse the power to turn invisible."

"Mr. Hobbes didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Dr. Bashir's eyebrows rose in surprise. He hadn't expected this problem. "He agreed to provide me with someone that could help Ms. Welles if I put the quicksilver gland in his body."

She stood there, just barely trembling in anger. "Of course," she said through clenched teeth.

"Uh, I take it that he hasn't conferred with you about that?"

She didn't answer. She headed for the door outside. She pushed hard on the door causing it to slam into the chair that Frank Parker was sitting in. Frank winced in pain and made a grab for his wounded shoulder. Pastor Powell hurried up from where he was sitting on the steps.

"Sorry," Claire managed to say. "Where's Hobbes?"

"He's clearing the area so that a helicopter can land," Frank said with gasping breaths. "He and an ex-cop, a Marty Crane, who was walking his dog. Marty volunteered to lend a hand."

She saw the old man walking with a cane, who she took to be Marty Crane, leading a small dog on a leash while waving back some onlookers. Finally, her eye fell on Bobby Hobbes several yards away looking up into the night sky. She looked up for a second, but saw nothing so she hurried over toward him. Suddenly a heavy wind began blowing down on them from directly above them. As she ducked for cover under a nearby tree, she managed to make out the outline of a black sleek helicopter coming in for a landing. The first thing that Claire noticed was that it was the quietest helicopter she had even seen. The second was that it appeared to be the most advanced; way ahead of anything she had seen the military operating with.

One of the pilots, an older man, quickly got out of the craft and opened up one of the side doors for passengers to disembark. A tall woman with long blond hair stepped out of the aerial transport bending down low. A man in a suit stepped out behind the woman and followed her a little way from the chopper before straightening up. Claire had her anger flair up anew as she recognized the devious, hard-playing Oliver Sampson, one of those men whose reputation stated that he was more concerned with his own agenda than the wellbeing of those he worked with. Albeit, she hadn't heard of him in quite a while, word that had gotten around was that he had become focused on a project he had been placed in charge of and put that above his other tasks.

The small dog was straining at its leash as it barked at the helicopter. The blond woman smiled and headed over to the man with gray hair holding the dog back. Oliver watched her go, but made his way toward Bobby Hobbes. Claire reached him first, however.

"When were you going to tell me?" demanded Claire.

"What? I needed to contact Sampson so that the female drone could be saved," he explained with open arms.

"Not that. That you plan to have Darien's quicksilver gland put in you. Did you really think that I would let you just take his legacy like that? Does Borden even know about this?"

A hurt look crossed his face. "Darien may have been just a common thief before he had his brother's gland put in, but because of the responsibilities put upon him he grew to become quite a man. And that I respect. And that is the legacy I'd like to continue on for him." He lowered his eyes. "I didn't think you would be against me having the gland. If you don't want me to have it, I won't."

Claire cursed herself mentally. It was just possible that Hobbes had meant to tell her but had been too busy with everything to do so. If he really had wanted to hide the fact, he wouldn't have had her working so closely with Dr. Bashir in the first place. "No. You are probably as good a person as anyone for the gland."

Bobby put a finger under her chin and lifted her head up. "Still friends?"

"Yeah, I suppose," she said, grabbing him into a hug. "At least until the next emotional crisis."

"Are the display of emotions over?" intruded Oliver Sampson. "I'd really like to see some evidence of these futuristic wonders that Mr. Hobbes has promised in return for our time and energy here."

Claire gripped Bobby's arms hard. "Just what did you promise to give him, Hobbes?"

"Easy, Keeply." He smiled graciously to Oliver but pulled Claire a few feet away and began speaking with her in hushed tones. "I offered him some of the Borg parts that the good Dr. Bashir is already taking off that Welles woman. And don't go all-ballistic about me giving away alien technology. Once the military get a hold of some of the damaged drones in the Rosemont Center, the few items that we hand over to Oliver will seem like nothing."

Claire looked doubtful. "But how can he help?" she whispered her inquiry.

"He can't." He pointed over to the pretty blond woman petting the dog of the man with a cane. "She, however, is another story altogether." He regarded Claire's expression for a moment. "And by the way, let's try not to mention the quicksilver gland around our dear friend Oliver. The fewer people that know who has the gland the better. Agreed?"

At that she was very willing to agree. Before they could continue further, the pilot of the sleek, black helicopter came forward.

"Been a while, Bobby," the tall thin man said in greeting. Claire found his voice and manner to be gruff, but welcoming. The copilot, an older man with whitish-gray hair, hurried over in a much more camaraderie manner. "Bobby, you remember Dominic Santini?" the pilot asked.

"It hasn't been that long," said Bobby as he reached out a hand to shake. "Though I thought I had heard that he had died?"

"Ha! The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated!" Dominic laughed cheerfully at his own joke. "And who might this beautiful, young lady be?" said Dominic, insisting on an introduction.

"Where's my manners," Bobby said, feeling some of the depression that had been weighing on him lift for the moment while in the midst of old friends. "This is Claire Keeply. Claire, meet Dominic and Stringfellow Hawke."

She shook their hands. "Quite an aircraft you have there."

"Airwolf is the most beautiful thing in the air, with or without wings," bragged Santini.

"Airwolf. I've heard that name before." Claire thought for a second. "You were based in the southwest somewhere." She looked at Airwolf again. "You travel faster than I thought you could if you were to fly from down there to all the way up here from the time that Hobbes called you."

Stringfellow shook his head. "Our base is at a secret location. Not even Hobbes or Sampson knows where we keep Airwolf. A couple years back our location was discovered so we had to relocate. Hobbes convinced us to move up to the northwest."

Oliver Sampson intruded on the group. "I'm sure this reunion is just doing wonders for everyone, but I didn't come all this way for a friendly pow-wow session."

"As much as I hate to agree with him, Sampson has a point," Bobby said. "If you gents could stay and keep the locals from intruding on us, I'd be grateful. We are going to be doing some rather delicate procedures in the church."

Dominic and Stringfellow agreed. Oliver called over the blond woman and they made their way up to the church.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 _Time for some explanations. Yes, I am making Lex Luthor a drone. But I have a plan. Trust me._

 _Yes, I also have Joe Dawson in the process of becoming a drone. Don't hate me._

 _No, I do not plan to have a winner for the Immortal Game in my story. I am trying to refer to its nearing conclusion with the Immortals feeling more aggression when in close proximity with each other. But they also must respect that rule about not attacking each other on holy ground (you know that rule that a number of film director's have chosen to ignore even though it had been firmly established early in the Immortal history)._

 _Yes, I talk a lot about God in my story. God's a reality. I just couldn't imagine a world where God didn't exist or where God wasn't Ruler and Maker of everything. God makes too much sense and the thought of a world where God does not exist does not make any sense at all to me. There is just too much organization in nature for it to be otherwise. Besides, God plays a big part in this story that you will see and read later._

 _I was originally having Oliver and Sydney from VR.5 be brought in by Michael Knight with KITT 2000. But a number of people have been suggesting that I bring in Airwolf, so I used that instead. See! I do listen to those that send reviews to me._

 _For those that don't know about the television show VR.5, Sydney discovered some secret experiments that her deceased father had been working on that allowed her to call someone up and enter their subconscious while on the telephone with them. I figured that this would be a most interesting way to help Wade Welles. Oliver Sampson was the semi-devious secret organization man that she ended up dealing with, though reluctantly on her part. Anthony Head who you might also know as Rupert Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer played Oliver Sampson._

 _If you are wondering about Pastor Kenton Powell, I just used the name of a friend of mine. We did go to Bible college together though, and he does hope to get a pastoral position soon._

 _Finally, I did not forget poor Duncan. You will read more about him in the next posting._

 _If you have any questions, please write and I will do my best to answer._

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **Characters in order of appearance or mentioned** **:**

 **Columbo, Mrs. Kate** (Kate Melgrew) – from the TV movie Kate Loves a Mystery (1979)

 **Columbo, Lt.** (Peter Falk) – from the TV movies Columbo (1968-2003)

 **Grissom, Gil** (William Petersen) – from the TV series C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-2009)

 **Scully, Dana** (Gillian Anderson) – from the TV series X-Files (1993-2002)

 **Simon, A.J.** (Jameson Parker) – from the TV series Simon & Simon (1981-1988)

 **Simon, Rick** (Gerald Raney) – from the TV series Simon & Simon (1981-1988)

 **Kojak, Lt. Theo** (Telly Savalas) – from the TV series Kojak (1973-1978)

 **Ironside, Robert T.** (Raymond Burr) – from the TV series Ironside (1967-1975)

 **Cannon, Frank** (William Conrad) – from the TV series Cannon (1971-1976) (mentioned only)

 **Stone, Detective Mike** (Karl Malden) – from the TV series The Streets of San Francisco (1972-1977) (mentioned only)

 **Baretta, Tony** (Robert Blake) – from the TV series Baretta (1975-1978) (mentioned only)

 **Jones, Barnaby** (Buddy Ebsen) – from the TV series Barnaby Jones (1973-1980) (mentioned only)

 **King-Stetson, Mrs. Amanda** (Kate Jackson) – from the TV series Scarecrow & Mrs. King (1983-1987)

 **Fletcher, Jessica Beatrice** ** _'J.B.'_** **McGill** (Angela Lansbury) – from the TV series Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996)

 **Byers, John Fitzgerald** (Bruce Harwood) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Bozinsky, Murray** ** _'Boz'_** (Thom Bray) – from the TV series Riptide (1984-1986)

 **MacGyver, Angus** (Richard Dean Anderson) – from the TV series MacGyver (1985-1992)

 **Hawk** (Avery Brooks) – from the TV series Spenser: For Hire (1985-1988), A Man Called Hawk (1989)

 **Parker, Catherine** (Andrea Parker) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Tess** (Della Reese) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)

 **Broots** (Jon Gries) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Sydney** (Patrick Bauchau) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **MacLeod, Duncan** (Adrian Paul) – from the TV series Highlander (1992-1997)

 **Borg** – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation

 **Seavers, Colt** (Lee Majors) – from the TV series The Fall Guy (1981-1986)

 **Roboz** – from the TV series Riptide (1984-1986)

 **Leela** (Louise Jameson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-1978)

 **Lang, Lana** (Kristin Kreuk) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2009)

 **Sullivan, Chloe** (Allison Mack) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Kent, Clark Jerome / Kal-El** (Tom Welling) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Benson, Olivia** (Mariska Hargitay) – from the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-2013)

 **Doctor, The 4th** (Tom Baker) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1974-1981)

 **K-9 Mark I** (voiced by John Leeson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-?)

 **Luthor, Lex** (Michael Rosenbaum) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Gordon, Mark** (Victor French) – from the TV series Highway to Heaven (1984-1989)

 **Stone, Ezekiel** ** _'Zeke'_** (Peter Horton) – from the TV series Brimstone (1998-1999)

 **Kenny** (Myles Ferguson) – from the TV series Highlander (1994-1995)

 **Monica** (Roma Downey) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)

 **Smith, Jonathan** (Michael Landon) – from the TV series Highway to Heaven (1984-1989)

 **The Devil** (John Glover) – from the TV series Brimstone (1998-1999) (mentioned only)

 **Dawson, Joe** (Jim Byrnes) – from the TV series Highlander (1993-1998)

 **Kolchak, Carl** (Darren McGavin) – from the TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1984-1985) (mentioned only)

 **MacLeod, Connor** (Christopher Lambert) – from the movie Highlander (1986) (mentioned only)

 **Pierson, Adam / Methos** (Peter Wingfield) – from the TV series Highlander (1995-1998) (mentioned only)

 **Steele, Remington** (Pierce Brosnan) – from the TV series Remington Steele (1982-1987) (mentioned only)

 **Mulder, Fox** (David Duchovny) – from the TV series X-Files (1993-2002)

 **Jarod** (Michael T. Weiss) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Nafeel, Dureena** (Carrie Dobro) – from the TV series Crusade (1999)

 **Galen** (Peter Woodward) – from the TV series Crusade (1999)

 **Paris, Adm. Owen** (Richard Herd) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1999-2001)

 **Paris, Lt. Tom** (Robert Duncan McNeill) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

 **Lennier** (Bill Mumy) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998)

 **Bester, Alfred** (Walter Koenig) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998)

 **Guinan** (Whoopi Goldberg) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988-1993)

 **Q** (John de Lancie) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-?), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager (mentioned only)

 **Scott, Cdr. Montgomery** ** _'Scotty'_** (James Doohan) – from the TV series Star Trek (1966-1969)

 **Penhall, Doug** (Peter DeLuise) – from the TV series 21 Jump Street (1987-1992)

 **Penhall, Joey** (Michael DeLuise) – from the TV series 21 Jump Street (1987-1992)

 **Briscoe, Det. Leonard** ** _'Lennie'_** (Jerry Orbach) – from the TV series Law & Order (1992-2004)

 **Murtaugh, Det. Roger** (Danny Glover) – from the movie Lethal Weapon (1987)

 **Riggs, Det. Martin** (Mel Gibson) – from the movie Lethal Weapon (1987)

 **Stetson, Lee** ** _'Scarecrow'_** (Bruce Boxleitner) – from the TV series Scarecrow & Mrs. King (1983-1987)

 **Hooker, T.J.** (William Shatner) – from the TV series T.J. Hooker (1982-1986)

 **Magnum, Thomas** (Tom Selleck) – from the TV series Magnum P.I. (1980-1988)

 **Rockford, Jim** (James Garner) – from the TV series The Rockford Files (1974-1980)

 **Keeply, Claire** ** _'The Keeper'_** (Shannon Kenny) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Fawkes, Darien** (Vincent Ventresca) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002) (mentioned only)

 **Hobbes, Agent Robert '** ** _Bobby_** **'** (Paul Ben-Victor) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Archangel / Coldsmith-Briggs III, Michael** (Alex Cord) – from the TV series Airwolf (1984-1986) (mentioned only)

 **Bashir, Dr. Julian** (Siddig El Fadil) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Garak, Elim** (Andrew Robinson) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Solo, Napoleon** (Robert Vaughn) – from the TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964-1968) (mentioned only)

 **Steed, John Wickham Gascone Berresford** (Patrick Macnee) – from the TV series The Avengers (1961-1968)

 **Knight, Michael** (David Hasselhofff) – from the TV series Knight Rider (1982-1986)

 **Hunt, Ethan** (Tom Cruise) – from the movie Mission: Impossible (1996)

 **Helm, Matt** (Dean Martin) – from the movie The Silencers (1966) (mentioned only)

 **Welles, Wade** (Sabrina Lloyd) – from the TV series Sliders (1995-1997)

 **Langly, Richard** ** _'Ringo'_** (Dean Haglund) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Parker, Lt. Frank** (Jonathan LaPaglia) – from the TV series Seven Days (1998-2001)

 **Crane, Martin** ** _'Marty'_** (John Mahoney) – from the TV series Frasier (1993-2004)

 **Eddie, the dog** – from the TV series Frasier (1993-2004)

 **Sampson, Oliver** (Anthony Head) – from the TV series VR.5 (1995)

 **Bloom, Sydney** (Lori Singer) – from the TV series VR.5 (1995)

 **Hawke, Stringfellow** (Jan-Michael Vincent) – from the TV series Airwolf (1984-1986)

 **Santini, Dominic** (Ernest Borgnine) – from the TV series Airwolf (1984-1986)


	8. Chapter 8

**A TANGLED WEB PART 5: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?**

 **By Charlie Nelson**

 **AuThOr'S NoTeS**

 _There are a_ _lot_ _of characters here. Around 70 characters in this chapter alone. I will have a list of them at the end of the chapter. You can also look them up on the Internet Movie Datebase or Google them._

 **Chapter 8**

Duncan MacLeod laid back in frustration. He was cold from lying on his back, and practically naked. He had heard distant noises a while ago. They sounded like explosions, but he wasn't certain. He had called out and tried to move out from his invisible restraints to no avail. No one came to his aid. And no one came to stop the atrocities that kept happening to the people all around him. He felt impotent, especially when they brought in his friend and sometimes-reluctant ally, Joe Dawson.

Joe had been led in by one of the cybernetic men and placed on one of the far tables just within Duncan's range of vision. Joe's skin showed the signs of being interwoven with the invasive cybernetic system, just as they had been trying to do to Duncan.

The Highlander banged his head on the table on which he was forcibly reclined. A Gaelic curse escaped his lips as he noticed another drone aiding a new victim onto the table next to his. In spite of his predicament, he noted that the young man was bald and better dressed than most of those that had been placed there before. An old, big boned woman, whom Duncan suspected of being a chef from what remained of her clothing, came and took over the process of seeing the young man converted and refitted into his new place as a drone, beginning with a shoulder guard that seemed to clamp directly into the flesh.

Meanwhile, the drone that had just led in the latest victim turned to regard MacLeod. Duncan stared in disbelief, as he had never seen a Ferengi before. The creature was short by Human standards, but had massive earlobes, a wide blunt nose and thin, and jagged teeth that would have been a dentist's nightmare. Other than those features, the creature bore all the same cybernetic devices the others wore.

"Your resistance to assimilation in pointless. You will be one with the Borg," spoke the borgified Ferengi, surprising the Highlander.

 _Resistance_? he thought. _I haven't been able to do anything except let my body heal itself from whatever it is they keep putting in me_. "Why are you doing this?" the four-hundred-year-old Immortal asked, doubting he would get an answer.

"Your body has proved to be highly resilient to the nanite restructuring. You have demonstrated an ability to break down and absorb the nanites while restoring your body to its original parameters. Not even Species 8472 has been able to fully accomplish this."

"I don't suppose that means you are going to just let me go, right?"

The Ferengi Borg drone said nothing. Instead, he turned and used his one remaining hand to take a small device from a female drone of Chinese descent. The Ferengi turned back to regard Duncan for a moment, the red beam from his prosthetic eye tracing over his chest. "This device will continue to reinsert new nanites into your system. Your body will not be able to prevail against us any further. You will be assimilated."

"Now wait a minute. We should talk…" he said with apprehension and growing dread.

The tubules in the Ferengi drone's arm extended. A quick thrust into MacLeod's chest ended all further conversation.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Connor was agitated. He didn't like staying in close contact with Immortals that he didn't know, even if they were friends that Duncan had mentioned in passing. He had marked up Remington Steele as annoying with his constant movie references. Connor felt sure that the New York detective had to be under a century old, but didn't give much for his chances of making it past two centuries. Adam Pierson, however, really brought up the red flags for Connor. Adam gave off the general appearance of being laid back and easy going, but for Connor it seemed more like the relaxed lithe mannerisms of a leopard prepared to spring on him at any time.

The only reason that Connor kept their company was because they were also looking to help find Duncan. Joe Dawson's Watcher contact, Carl Kolchak, had traced Duncan and his abductors to the convention hall. With all that had occurred at the hall that night, it only made sense to Connor that Duncan would be right in the middle of all the trouble.

Everywhere they went there were signs of a fight. And yet there were no bodies anywhere. Spots of blood could be seen in a few places, but there were no signs of major blood loss.

"You know, this reminds me of that _Aliens_ movie. 1986. Sigourney Weaver. A military strike force is sent in to discover what had happened to a colony of planetary terraforming colonists who had disappear. It turns out the xenomorphic creatures had used the colonists as hosts for-"

"You're not helping the situation," Adam commented grimly from where he stood next to a drinking fountain.

"Sorry," Remington shrugged. "Habit."

Connor raised his head from where he had been examining some strange milky gray substance on the floor. "We are about to have guests."

All three drew their swords.

"All for one, and one for all," Remington said to break the tension.

Connor glared back at him. "There can be only one," he said dryly. He didn't like this situation at all and this youngster's constant attempts to lighten the situation was wearing thin for him.

Methos sighed. "Can't you ease up just a little?" At the scorning look that Connor shot his way, Methos just sighed again. "I can't see how you could be related to Duncan."

"Same clan, different vintage," responded the Scottish Highlander, taking his place to the side of the door, sword held ready to use. The other two became silent. They moved out of view from the door and poised to fight.

Two figures came through the door in an obvious hurry. The larger of the two was dragging along his companion with one arm holding him up. At the sight of three people surrounding him suddenly, the big man with a mustache let his partner drop to the floor and lashed out with a quick kick.

Connor managed get his sword out of the way of the foot, gave a quick grab with his free hand and pulled hard on the man's ankle. The off-balance man went down hard on his backside. He sat still for a moment, getting his bearings.

The Highlander knew immediately that the two men had been running from something. Both were covered in sweat from exertion. The smaller, balding man was unconscious, which explained why the bigger man had been carrying him along but not how he got that way. The bigger man wore a Hawaiian short-sleeved shirt and was looking up in astonishment at the three men wearing various light trench coats and pointing swords at him.

"Hey, wait a minute! I recognize him!" Remington suddenly said. "He was there when those Borg creatures attacked everyone originally!"

The man in question regarded Remington more closely. "And you were the one attacking them with a sword." He eyed the similar weaponry in the three men's hands. "I see that type of defense is catching on." Remington held a hand out to him and the man accepted help to his feet. "Name's Thomas Magnum. Yours?" he asked.

"Remington Steele. To my right, the man with the piercing eyes is Connor MacLeod. To my right, Meth…" A sudden dangerous look from Methos stopped the words in Remington's throat. "Ah, that is, uh, Adam Pierson… a new acquaintance of mine," he managed to say. Unconsciously, his free hand went to his shirt collar and pulled gently at it as if it suddenly felt too constricting. Connor's eyebrows rose a little in query but said nothing.

"Who's your friend?" Methos asked, as a means of changing the subject.

Magnum looked down at the still form of the man he had been carrying. "He's called Broots. Just met him, so I don't know if that is his last name or some kind of nickname." He bent down over the man in question to check on him, then looked up at his recent attackers. "Someone want to give me a hand with him? Those things may still be after us. And I don't think you want to meet them with just swords. Even if you are as good as he is," he said, indicating Remington Steele.

Remington passed his sword to his left hand; went to help. "He is right," he commented to his Immortal companions. "We don't want to meet these things head on. Our best chance would be to find a way around them to get to Duncan."

"If you are looking for a friend of yours and the Borg got to him, he's as good as lost," Magnum said candidly.

"You don't know our friend," Connor said in a dark, dangerous tone.

Thomas looked from Connor to the sword that the Immortal carried. "Maybe I don't, but his chances aren't good from what I've seen."

"First things first. We have to get around the Borg," Methos responded. "And I think I might have an idea how."

"But aren't you going to help us get out of here?" Magnum asked, indicating himself and the unconscious Broots.

"You are on your own," said Connor. "Just follow that hall down, take a right at the restrooms, continue until you get to where it T's off and take a left. Continue down until you find a big hole in the wall that will lead you outside."

Grunting his thanks, Magnum took off with his living burden. The three unhelpful men with swords presented an interesting mystery to the island detective. And yet all the man wanted at the moment was to find someplace nice and dull. And above all, safe. Only until he found such a place would he be willing to ponder the bizarre behavior of the three swordsmen.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

The world swirled and swayed around him as he tried to remain on his feet. Clark kept one hand on the wall as he stumbled down the underground maintenance tunnel. He had passed some signs that contained some kind of directional information, but he could have cared less at the moment.

All that was important to him at the moment was to keep moving and stay away from the fiends that had hurt him. His chest and back hurt from where the Borg drones had shot him. Twice he thought he had heard his parents calling him, but whenever he turned to the sound all he saw was an empty tunnel.

Thinking of his parents started him thinking how he would like to be back home in Smallville. Enjoying the comfort of his ' _Fortress of Solitude_ ' that he had in the loft of the barn. Perhaps Lana would even come over to visit.

He stopped cold in his tracks. Lana couldn't come over to visit him because she was somewhere in this horrible place. Chloe and Lex, too.

Crap.

He began trying to look for them with his x-ray vision. When it didn't work like he wanted it to, he shook his head for a second and rubbed his eyes. "Come on, Clark. You can do this. You have too. For Lana and the others."

He tried using his vision powers again with some success. The way he was going turned out to be one of a number of tunnels that lead directly to the main congregation of Borg drones. He couldn't tell what all the machinery was for, having never seen anything like it before. But since he couldn't make any sense out of it and it wasn't what he was looking for, he turned away.

He caught himself as he walked into a wall. He gently rested his forehead against the bricks as he took deep soothing breaths.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move. The wounded man lashed out before he thought, hitting a body and throwing it hard into one of the brick walls where it bounced off and fell to the floor.

Clark blinked his eyes to focus. Then looked at what he had hit. A drone lay still on the floor; a puddle of a white grayish substance began forming around it.

"Oh no," Clark whispered, horrified. "I must have blacked out for a minute for it to get that close to me." He checked around for any other drones, but only spotted another infected victim, the drone had evidently been taking somewhere.

The prospective drone was evidently in his late fifties or early sixties, and a little out of shape as evident to the paunch he carried above his belt. His hairline looked to have been receding for years. His face seemed kind, which made the whole situation sadder to Clark. He saw the nametag was hanging half off. Clark reached over to straighten it so that he could read it. It read Stan Wojciehowicz.

"Stan, I wish I could do for you what Leela did for that other drone… but I just can't kill you." The young Kryptonian fell to his knees with his back to the wall, both in exhaustion and frustration. "I don't know if you can hear me, Stan, but I don't know what to do for you." He took a couple of more deep breaths. "I don't even know what to do for myself."

Stan didn't say anything, but just stood there waiting.

Clark sighed. Gently holding his head. Despair and darkness began to form all around him. All his great strength seemed to quickly flow from his body.

A far-off cry came to his sharply attuned ears. His head jerked up. Lana? Again, he heard Lana call out to him in utter terror. Before he knew what he was doing, Clark was off and running.

Stan Wojciehowicz stood there waiting. But he didn't have to wait long before another drone came to retrieve him.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

The time-lord hurried down the hall in great agitation. Nothing was working out as planned. He glanced down at K-9, his faithful little robotic dog that he carried in his arms. There were scorch marks on K-9's metallic sides and whiffs of smoke that came out its sides. The Doctor had serious concerns about the robotic companion's current status. Not that he had any real opportunity to look into it at the moment. He was rather glad that sparks had stopped flying out of one the gaps in K-9's neck. Perhaps the robot's internal fire suppression devices were beginning to engage.

"Doctor, where are the others?" asked Ezekiel, groggily. Mark Gordon helped the resurrected ex-policeman Ezekiel Stone as they hurried along, but he was quickly regaining his senses and footing.

"We were separated," the Doctor explained brusquely.

"They shot you with some type of laser beam," Kenny interjected. "It didn't cut into you or anything. Just knocked you out." The boy-Immortal hurried along in front of the other, machete tightly gripped in his right hand.

Ezekiel noticed Mark not speaking. "I think I can stand now," he said to the man helping him. Mark made sure that Ezekiel was able to stay on his own two feet but didn't leave his side. "What else happened?" Ezekiel asked Mark.

A look of sadness and guilt crossed Mark's grizzled face. "They got Lex." He almost choked on the words. "I let down Lex, Jonathan and even the Big Guy and whatever he had planned for Lex."

"We were all there," pointed out Ezekiel. "There was nothing any of us could do."

Kenny stopped where he was, turning to the others. "So now what do we do?" he said expressing what they were all beginning to think of now that they had gotten far enough away from the Borg.

The Doctor grimaced. "What we should have done in the first place, I suppose. We regroup with the team from Starfleet."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Lana's grabbed in terror for Chloe's shoulder. The teenage blond shrugged off Lana's hand and kept her focus on trying to get a cabinet door open, hoping to find a weapon of some sort.

The reason for Lana's plight was very apparent, as they had somehow gotten themselves backed into a corner with three drones advancing on them. Leela had placed herself between the two young ladies and the drones, but that didn't comfort Lana much even though the leather-clad huntress held a razor-sharp knife in one hand and a poisonous thorn in the other.

Lana was furious with herself for letting her curiosity and feelings for Clark drag her into this bizarre horrifying adventure. She blamed Doctor What-ever-his-name-was-with-the-awful-scarf for bringing them here. She even wished Clark had never come to Earth with the kryptonite meteor shower. She tried to blink that last thought away. She needed Clark now more than ever. If only he was with them now.

"Clark! You have to help us! Clark!" she hollered to the walls.

"Don't just stand there yelling! Find something to fight with!" Taking her own advice, Chloe grabbed a phone behind the desk, ripped out the cord from the wall, and then chucked the whole thing at one of the nearing drones.

The drone merely raised his augmented arm slightly. A beam of light hit the phone speeding towards him and suddenly the phone was no more.

Leela, being the oldest and having the most experience, motioned for the girls' attention. "When I give the word, run for all you are worth," Leela whispered back at Lana and Chloe. "I'll distract them and give you a chance to run for safety."

Chloe looked at Leela like she had grown a second head. "Are you crazy? Did you see what they did to that phone? They have us and they know it! There is no place to run!"

"Just do it," hissed Leela. "And be sure to take the other one with you."

Chloe did a quick check on Lana. She didn't look good. She looked like she was about to go into a full-blown panic attack. Not that Chloe blamed her for that. She wanted to do the very same thing but just didn't have the luxury to just then. "Lana? Lana, pull it together. We-"

"No, we need Clark! You saw all the super-powered things he could do! We need him! Clark! Clar-"

The floor beneath the three drones erupted just before they got close to the three women. The drones were thrown about, fell to the hard tile floor and did not rise.

Leela, Chloe and Lana more or less huddled together as the dust settled down. There standing by a hole in the middle of the floor they could just make out the figure of a young man standing, surveying the area. As the dust settled more, they could see that the imposing figure he made. Lana's mind half wondered what the man would look like in a cape. He turned to regard them and took a step forward. Then fell to the floor.

A cry caught in Lana's throat. Chloe beat her to Clark's side by a second. The young brunette watched in fearful anticipation as Chloe checked the young man's vital signs.

"He's not breathing," Chloe managed to say. Then, immediately struggled to set Clark in a position where she could perform CPR on him. While Chloe attempted to breathe life back into Clark, Lana stared at the burn marks on Clark's chest. While the skin appeared blackened, the only other damage seemed to be chapped skin. His shirt, however, had not been as lucky.

A gasp form one of the drones drew Lana's attention, causing her to see Leela finish killing the unconscious drones. The dangerous huntress glanced over at them, seeing that Chloe was administering to Clark, the leather clad woman headed down the hall to check for any more drones. Bile rose in the Smallville girl's throat, as she turned away from the small pools of white and gray that began to form around the drone bodies. She desperately focused on Clark and Chloe. Chloe had a good rhythm going, pushing down on the chest to keep the blood flow moving, then performing mouth-to-mouth recitation. At one point Chloe, seemed to tense and even stop as she was breathing into Clark.

"Is he…. Is he… Oh, please say he isn't!"

"Ah, no," responded the shorthaired blond. "He's going to fine, I think." She leaned up and Lana could more clearly see Clark's chest rising and falling on its own as he breathed. "I was doing mouth-to-mouth and he,-" Chloe seemed to blush a little. "He kissed me. I - He just - I mean, I could see that he was definitely breathing after that. I can barely say the same for myself. Awooga." She fanned herself, feeling slightly overheated all of a sudden.

Lana wasn't amused. Not that she could accuse Chloe of anything. Not that Chloe was even to blame for Clark kissing her. She couldn't even blame Clark for that since he was unconscious. Besides she was supposed to be going out with Whitney. Wasn't Whitney the one that she wanted?

Leela hurried back pushing a wheelchair that had been abandoned by someone. "Get him in here, quick! We must leave before more of those creatures come."

"She's right," Chloe agreed, getting an arm under Clark. "Those things probably heard Clark coming through the floor and will be coming to investigate."

"Didn't you listen when the Doctor explained the Borg to you," chastised the huntress. She moved to get Clark's other arm. "The Borg are all connected. What one drone sees they all see."

"Then the rest of them already know that you killed the ones that had us trapped here!" Lana cast her eyes down the halls, fear plain on her face. "They will be coming to attack us again!"

Chloe ignored Lana's rising panic, focusing on Clark. "He's heavier than I thought," groaned Chloe, as she tried to lift the awkward, unconscious body.

Leela helped to steady the wheelchair with a free foot as they eased Clark into it. "I've noticed that some of those born on other worlds are heavier and denser than what you and I have been born on."

Chloe took a moment to straighten Clark's hair. "Funny. Even with all the powers that I know he now has, I keep forgetting that he's an alien."

Seeing Chloe running her fingers through Clark's hair stirred something within Lana. Lana reached out and readjusted one of his curls. "And he kept secretly helping us without trying to get any of the glory."

"That's what makes him a true hero," Leela stated, flatly. She wasn't used to dealing with teenage girls. They were harder to understand than the Doctor at times. "Now let us rescue him and get all of us out of here."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

Amanda hurriedly pushed down her skirt as she got to her feet. One of her shoes tumbled down on the pavement next to where her other foot that still had its shoe was. She bent down to pick it up, but was grabbed by the elbow and pulled to one side. "My shoe!" she protested. She had already accidentally left her purse up on the roof. She didn't want to lose one of her best shoes, too.

"Sorry, ma'am, but someone else is already coming down."

Amanda recognized the man right away as Angus MacGyver, the one who came up with the idea of making a chute out of the thick red stage curtains so that they could slide down from the roof. He had been the first one down and had taken a rather rough landing, so that he could set it up better down below for everyone else. Basically, he had connected two long curtains together and made a long slide from the roof. On the ground level, he had taken the ends of the curtain and fastened them to the bumpers of two vehicles, a police car and a fish and wildlife van. Still when you slid down to the very end you were unceremoniously fell the last foot onto your butt. People also received some rug burn on any exposed skin area that rubbed against the curtain on the slide down.

"But my shoe-" She stopped complaining once she saw just who the next person down the makeshift slide was.

"Unhand me! I can get up myself!" Miss Parker was moody at the best of times. Tonight she was livid. "Great! Now where is my purse!" She looked back up toward the roof. "Don't tell me I left it up-"

"Did you leave your purse on the roof, Miss Parker?" asked a male voice with gentle sarcasm.

Catherine Parker froze for a moment, and then turned to see Jarod grinning at her like the Cheshire Cat. "So, you've decided to wait for me for once."

"No," he said in a more somber tone. "I came back to see that you got out of there all right."

A few emotions warred within her before anger resumed its dominant role. "I'm still taking you back to the Centre!"

"Your gun is in your purse. And that is up on the roof evidently. So, unless you are going to go back up that slide and get it, you really can't force me to do anything."

Miss Parker fumed. If it hadn't been for Jarod, then Sydney and Broots wouldn't have gotten into this mess. "You should know that Sydney and Broots sacrificed their lives to get the rest of us out of there."

If she was trying to hurt him, she succeeded. But his reaction was not at all what she expected. "I'm so sorry," he said, a look of grief and sorrow filled his face. And then he did the unexpected and pulled her into a comforting embrace before she could react. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"I-" Was she all right? Here was the man that she had been chasing for the past couple of years all over the United States, and he was trying to comfort her. She wanted to knee him in the groin. Pull his hair out. Hit him in the jaw. Scratch his eyes out. Instead, she did the unexpected.

She melted.

Tears flowed. Sydney had been more a father to her than her own father. Broots had always been kind to her even though she had only been overbearing and domineering toward him. Sure, he feared her; most men did. But Broots actually cared for her, too. And that had been a rarity in her life.

Jarod held her close as she cried out her frustrations out on his shoulder. Though this was probably not the best time for this type of thing, sometimes people needed to just sit down and cry regardless of where they were or what was going on around them.

Out of the corner of Jarod's eye, he saw Mulder's partner, Dana, come down the slide. As she got painfully to her feet, she spotted Jarod and Catherine. Jarod also saw that she had Catherine's purse in her hand. With a free hand he gently waved the federal agent back. Dana, sensing that this was probably not the right time to disturb them, especially since the hardened woman was crying, decided to hold onto the woman's purse for now and go find Mulder.

She had already instructed all the able-bodied people as to what to do when they got off the roof. The women slid off the roof first at the insistence of the men. Tess, the security chief, had refused, and was staying until everyone was down. But even without the men, the women following her orders were spreading out and making sure that no one enters the building until the proper authorities arrived. Albeit, she had no clue as to whom the proper authorities would be in this case.

She didn't have far to go to find her partner. Mulder could be seen arguing with a nearby police officer about the convention center. Evidentially some of the newly arrived officers wanted to go into the building via a large hole that was in the wall and check what is going on. All of Mulder's arguments ceased upon seeing Dana.

"Scully!" He had rushed forward upon seeing her but at the last minute stopped and took her hand. "Are you all right? These barriers weren't here before. I didn't know what to think."

"I told you on the phone that I was all right. Things just got very hectic and-" She paused and took a breath. "I took charge of the situation. Lee Stetson helped me." She looked up into his eyes. "I lost people in there. People following my direction."

Mulder pulled her into the hug he had been hesitant about doing just a minute before. "I'm sure you did what you had to do."

She rested her head on his shoulder for a moment, and then pulled back. Agents in the Bureau were not allowed to get to intimate with each other. It was seriously frowned upon. Plus, the rumor mill had already been talking about Scully and ' _Spooky_ ' Mulder for a while. "…Was your venture fruitful?"

Mulder practically glowed. "I'll say! Some seem very human in appearance but claim to be alien. Lennier, he's a Minbari. He has this bony ridge over the back of his head. I can't tell what the purpose of it is for but hopefully once you examine him you can-"

"Mulder," Dana interrupted. "Where are they now? When I called you on the phone you said you had just arrived here with them."

"They went into the building," he explained sheepishly. "I'd have gone with them, but Jarod and I had to help set up that slide."

Dana was impressed. "You mean to tell me you let your aliens get away so that you could rescue me in the others."

He looked out at all the people from the roof slowly spreading out. "Something like that, yes."

Just then he saw John Byers slide down and land with a graceless thud. The Lone Gunman brushed off his suit in a careful, dignified manner only to be hit from behind by a new arrival, the even ganglier Murray Bozinsky. MacGyver hurried over from where he had been helping move an older handicapped man out of the way.

Mulder burst out laughing. Dana and some others soon followed. Stress and tiredness felt by everyone had found a release. Fox pulled Dana into a tighter hug while they watched MacGyver clear away the two skinny men so that there wouldn't be any further mishaps.

All laughter stopped as six helicopters suddenly flew in. The temporary curtain slide blew wildly in the wind as helicopters neared. Doug Penhall, who was sliding down at the time had the ride of his life. He landed roughly and lay on the ground holding his wounded leg while trying to curse through clenched teeth. Otherwise he was all right and soon had people coming to move him out of the way.

Mulder feared the worst as he and Scully approached the landing choppers. His dealings with other government agents when getting close to proving the existence of extra-terrestrial life to the general public had never been good. But to what extremes would they go if a large number of people were to become believers?

The nearest helicopter emptied eight people. A large broad-shouldered man gave out rapid instructions to some of his comrades who all obeyed without question, going to their assigned areas. All carried weapons. Large weapons.

Mulder had his badge out for the man to see as he came near. "I'm Mulder from the FBI. We've been-" The man and three of his remaining companions walked right by him like he wasn't even there.

Fox had had enough. He shook off the restraining hand that Scully had put on his arm. "Hey! Unless you want to get a number of your ultra-spooky government OPS guys killed you had better talk to me! You don't know what is going on in there and I do."

One of the men next to the big man addressed his superior. "I think you should talk to him, Harry," commented Albert Gibson as he offered his opinion.

Harry Tasker sighed. He hated walking into a situation without at least having an idea as to what he was getting into. He turned to regard the FBI agent and his female partner. "You are Fox Mulder. Your partner for the last decade is Dana Scully. You both undertake investigations into bizarre and unexplained mysteries. You especially have a fixation on aliens and UFO's. Now what is the situation here?"

Dana pushed in front of Fox. "We have people trapped on the roof. They can't go back through the building. It's too dangerous." She indicated the curtain slide that they had been using.

Harry nodded and adjusted his headset. "Mama Bear, do you read me?"

Gibson pointed up at one of the helicopters still in the air. "There's Helen." He made a quick wave at the helicopter in case Helen was watching.

Harry just nodded as he listened to his earpiece. "Mama Bear. I need you to land on the roof with choppers Delta and Bravo. Have the men set up a temporary perimeter while the choppers airlift off the people up there." They all watched as three of the helicopters flew off to complete his orders. "There. Now what were you were going to tell me about whoever is in there?" he said indicating the convention hall.

"Not so fast," Mulder said. "What federal agency did you say that you worked for?"

"I didn't," he answered. "And I'd just prefer to keep it that way."

Dana could see trouble brewing even before Mulder started to speak. Fortunately, he spotted someone that demanded his attention before he could build up the tension any further. "Of course, he would be here."

Harry regarded the man Mulder was referring to thirty feet away. The man was just exiting a sleek black sedan that parked illegally in a handicap parking spot, lighting a cigarette as he regarded the convention hall and the force field over the main entryway. Tasker recognized him instantly from the photographs his superiors had shown him. No one had been able to give him a name, but he was regarded as a very dangerous man to cross. But then those were the very type of people that Harry lived to cross.

Leaving Mulder and Scully, Harry began walking toward the Cigarette Smoking Man while being flanked by three of his men. The two guards with the unnamed man began to draw their weapons but found that Harry's men already covered them. Gibson centered his weapon on the smoking man and smiled.

The Cigarette Smoking Man blew a whiff of smoke Harry's way. "Ah, Mr. Tasker. I believe if you call your superiors you will find that you are to comply to my every request."

Harry smiled. "I have talked to my superiors. It seems one of your superiors regard this event here in Washington as a serious breach of a covenant that you had been a part of. And since that covenant with the little green men has been broken, he provided us with much information." He let that sink in for a minute. "My superiors have requested that anyone finding you also bring you in for questioning."

The man nervously inhaled deeply on his cigarette. "This is all bigger than you can imagine. You cannot comprehend the impact of what will happen if-"

"Take him away. Allow no contact with him." The Cigarette Smoking Man looked up at him spitefully, but said nothing, but blew smoke in his face. "And I want him fully searched. Body cavity included."

Two men took the now protesting man away, fear showing in his eyes. His cigarette fell to the asphalt, smoldering unheeded in the wind from the helicopters. His underlings were searched and being handcuffed when Harry noticed Mulder and Scully behind him. A helicopter flew overhead, carrying people off the roof.

"They're gray," Mulder said, dubious at seeing someone taking control from his long-time nemesis, yet still amazed. Stepped on the cigarette on the ground, grinding it into the surface of the parking lot.

"Gray?"

"They are little gray men; not green."

Harry still wasn't sure what to believe. But his gut told him to go along with Mulder for now. As they watched the first helicopter full of people left the roof and began to deposit them in a little park area on the other side of the parking lot. One of Harry's men went with one of the newly arrived ambulances to check on things there. The other ambulance personnel were busy treating various injuries like the bullet wound in Doug Penhall's leg.

"We'd like to go in with your team," Dana proposed. "I've had experience with these things and-"

"Not happening." Harry was willing to trust them out here, but not in a dangerous unknown situation.

"But I have… acquaintances that have already gone in." Mulder indicated the man-sized hole in the side of the building. A few of Harry's men had set up a parameter there to safeguard against attack. "And I don't want you and your men to mistake them for the Borg." He carefully considered something for a moment. "They were not all Human either."

Harry looked over at his friend and partner of many years before turning back to Mulder. "When you say ' _not Human_ ', do you mean the attackers or your friends."

"Both."

Gibson chuckled. "I told you this wasn't going to be your average run-of-the-mill terrorist attack, Harry. I just knew it as soon as-"

"Shut up, Al." Harry liked the situation less and less. He turned to regard Mulder and his female partner. "How did you come across these supposed ' _alien allies_ '?"

It was Mulder's turn to hesitate. "I'd rather not say."

The look on Harry's face-hardened. "Would you like to go with your cigarette-addicted friend and have a body cavity search?"

Mulder's expression did not change though Dana thought he did look a little paler. "An NSA agent came charging in to warn us of everything," Dana began, before Mulder could get himself in any further predicaments. "He talked to Dr. Bradley Talmadge and informed him to warn everybody of what was about to transpire here. Then he took my partner to meet with some people or aliens who could help with the situation."

"Operation: Backstep raises it's prophetic head again," jested Gibson.

"The NSA man was Frank Parker?" Tasker asked.

Mulder nodded. They all watched as another helicopter left the roof, carrying people to safety.

Harry looked around. "Where is he now," he said in a commanding tone. Tasker had worked with Frank on three separate occasions. Each one the NSA agent had somehow come across information that saved hundreds of lives and on one occasion the life of a Chinese Ambassador. Though he didn't like Frank's unorthodox methods or attitude, he did respect his results.

Mulder didn't like the tone but answered in spite of it. "He was wounded. Shot in the shoulder. He stayed behind with one of my friends who been injected by the Borg."

"Injected?" Gibson asked. Injections were never a good thing when done by your enemy. There was always the possibility that it could be life threatening or contagious.

"It's how they take a person over and turn them into one of the Borg," Mulder explained. "See, you need me so that I can explain all this to you. You are dealing with an advanced alien lifeform with advanced technology that seeks to-"

"Enough!" There were some things that Harry just was not willing to accept. Aliens were one of them. Maybe some kind of technological secret organization like the mysterious Section One or SPECTRE. "You want to do something that would help. Fine. Go get Agent Frank Parker and bring him to me. Until then, I am clearing the roof of people and setting up and slowly enclosing parameter." Agent Parker had insisted that everyone in a mile radius of the convention center be evacuated. Harry's superior's felt that something like that could lead to wide scale panic so had sent Harry to evaluate the situation first. But he could do that a lot better if Agent Parker was here to consult.

Mulder wanted to argue Harry orders. Dana put a gentle, yet firm restraining hand on his shoulder. "We agree," she said.

Mulder felt slightly betrayed by his partner but nodded in acceptance. He watched a helicopter take off and head towards the roof again. He did give the man credit for trying to help others, which was a far cry from what he was used to when dealing with shadowy government agent figures.

"One more thing," Harry said. He turned and spoke into his headset. Turning back to the two federal agents, "I want you to take one of our agents with you."

Mulder was about to protest when a young woman barely out of her teens ran up. She wore the same gear as the other agents but definitely appeared more feminine. "What, you're sending one of your interns with us?" he asked incredulously.

Harry ignored Mulder. "Dana, I want you to go with these two agents. They are bringing an NSA agent back with them."

The young woman frowned. "Da-" She caught herself. "Sir, I really think I could be of more use here. You don't have enough agents to cover a building this size. And-"

Harry held up his hand and the young agent went silent. "Dana, I'm in charge and you will do as you are told." When she nodded, he continued. "Also, you will be in charge of bringing Agent Frank Parker to me."

Dana's eyes sparkled. Scully and Mulder were none too happy with this new arrangement, but said nothing. Seeing this as a good sign, Harry introduced Dana to Scully and Mulder. They left shortly after, Mulder driving the black sedan that the Cigarette Smoking Man had arrived in.

"You want me to follow them, don't you?" Gibson asked.

Harry nodded. "She's my only child. I want to let her be responsible for herself." He turned to give Gibson a hard look. "But only in the safety of a controlled environment."

"So I follow them," Gibson acknowledged. "You trust those two feds?"

Harry thought a moment. "They may be unusual, but as far as I can tell they are honest and dedicated."

"All right." He paused for a moment. "You know she won't like it if she finds out that I'm tailing her."

"Would you rather explain to Helen why I let her daughter stay during a dangerous situation instead of sending her on a fluff mission?"

"Right. I'm on it." Harry handed him the tracking device that was attuned to the bug secretly planted on Harry's daughter. "Don't worry, boss. I'll guard her like she was my own." Al took off running to a nearby vehicle and commandeered it from a protesting driver that had been gawking at everything that was transpiring.

It was as Gibson was driving away that Harry noticed that most of the parking slots near the building were empty. The farther ends of the parking lot was packed with cars, and there seemed to be no reason, such as someone blocking off an area for special reserved parking. There just were no vehicles there. Or there had been and someone had taken or moved them for some purpose.

The electric signboard in front of the main entryway to the convention hall parking lot flickered between advertisements and commercials. Instead of the schedule for the upcoming events or a Dr. Pepper commercial, a young bald man appeared. The unsettling thing about his appearance was his unnatural skin condition, the red tracking laser placed over his right eye, and the dullness in his uncovered eye. In the background, other people similar in appearance walked around in a zombie-like state.

The outside speakers could be heard turning on, and then the man on the signboard screen spoke. "We are temporary speaker Brainiac of Borg. You will be assimilated into the Collective. The Borg will expand." The pale bald man paused for a moment, as if to let that statement sink in before continuing. "Assimilation of your species will happen with or without your cooperation. The Borg cannot be defeated. Prepare for assimilation. Your resistance is futile." The image of the man remained for a moment, and then the screen went blank.

"Not your typical terrorist statement, Papa Bear," Harry heard over his earpiece. "Was it just me, or did some of those people have mechanical parts grafted to their bodies?"

Harry grunted before answering Helen. "Looked like it to me. Mulder might actually have been right for once."

A helicopter rising from the roof with a new batch of people being rescued suddenly seemed enveloped in a bluish-white beam emitting from the far side of the roof. Other flashes and gunfire could be seen up on the rooftop.

"Mama Bear! Mama Bear! Helen! What's going on up there?" Static filled his headset as he watched the helicopter drawn back to the roof against the will of the pilot. Another bluish-white beam had gone out and ensnared a helicopter coming to the first one's rescue. A few men jumped from the roof down the curtain slide as a last chance of escape. All Harry could do was watch.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **CHURCH NEAR THE SPACE NEEDLE**

"My buddy, Phil, became quite a helicopter pilot in his day. Got himself a number of commendations and medals for all sorts of heroic things he did when he was in Korea." He sniffed and adjusted his belt in an attitude of self-importance in telling a tale. "He always said he was going to take me up in the air sometime and show me some of the moves he used that earned him some of those medals." He paused in reflection. "Course, he never did get around to it and then he was gone."

"Did he crash?" Santini asked. His was only barely paying attention to the story he was being told. Meeting aliens and hearing about a machine takeover of the world had a way of distracting him.

"No. He moved to Alaska and became a bush pilot."

"Sorry to hear that," Santini said. From where they sat on the steps of the church, he could keep a good eye on Airwolf and with just a slight turn of his head look into the church to watch some of what was going on inside. He was curious what the blond woman they had been asked to bring was going to do. She seemed nice, which was a great contradiction to that fellow, Sampson, which she traveled with. Neither of them graced his view through the doorway, though. Mostly he saw the scaly guy called Garak sitting in a chair watching something beyond the pilot's view. Santini found that if he stared to long, the lizard-like man would turn his head and give him a warm smile which unnerved him for some reason or other.

"So maybe before you go you could take me up for a spin?"

"Yeah, sure. I could-" Dominic caught himself. "In Airwolf?" He glanced at the skinny man that had been talking to him. Sheriff Fife looked like he was drowning in his uniform that made him resemble a little kid wearing a costume for Halloween. "We'll see," he said reluctantly. Usually he would love to show off Airwolf, but just now his nerves were on edge.

"That'd be great!" he said in almost comical exuberance. "If we can, that is," the Mayberry sheriff amended.

Something skirted the edges of his senses causing him to stand up suddenly, looking around into the shadowy area by the trees.

"Something wrong?"

"Yeah." He rubbed his jaw with one hand. "You were supposed to keep Frank awake to make sure he didn't go into shock."

The sheriff looked over at the still figure of Frank Parker sleeping in his chair at the top of the steps. He had been shot in the shoulder earlier that night, but had only found time to get temporarily patched up. The doctors had been busy with their two Borg patients inside to really deal with him. Frank had also been busy making phone calls to let anyone work on his shoulder anyway. "Omigosh! I thought he was just listening intently to what we were saying!"

"No. He was just falling asleep." He made a decision. One he hoped not to live to regret. Well, at least to live through. "Go get one of the doctors inside to check on him. I going to go and check on something out there."

"Right!" Barney said, his head bobbing up in down in panicked excitement. "I'll go get a doctor!" He rushed up the stairs, carefully getting around the unconscious form of Frank Parker. He paused before going over the threshold. "Where did you say you were going?"

Dominic Santini was already halfway to the trees and didn't turn around. "All right. Where are you?" he muttered to himself. He really didn't expect whoever it was to just announce themselves. Most were of the type to try using a surprise attack. Thus, deeper into the trees and with another building that was closed for the night between them and the church, he was surprised when a shoulder length, black-haired woman in her mid-twenties or early thirties stepped out of the shadows looking at him in fear.

"You-you aren't going to try ki-kill me like the others who chased me."

Dominic looked down at the sword in his hand, and wondered when he had pulled it out. "That all depends if you plan on challenging me. Personally, I'd rather not fight anyone, but some people really insist, if you know what I mean," he said, chuckling in a manner that he hoped was lightening the situation.

Santini's charm didn't seem to have any effect. "No," she said in a frightened tone. "All I know is these people I sense somehow come after me with swords," she pointed to the sword in Santini's hand for emphasis.

This worried Santini. "You mean no one has ever trained you or even explained the rules of the Game to you?" It wasn't unheard of for some Immortals to just take the head of a Newbie rather than train them, but the majority of Immortals frowned upon it.

"I don't know what you are talking about. What game?" She seemed close to tears now, which really made Dominic feel uncomfortable. "But if you are going to kill me, just get it over with."

He wasn't about to do that. But the alternative was to take her in as his apprentice and he had never done that before. Still, something about it all seemed naggingly familiar. "Whataminute!" he extended his sword fully out even though she was just ten feet away. "You're Felicia Martins! You go around pretending to be a brand-new Immortal in distress, then attack your mentors when their defenses are down." Her look of surprise turned into a snarl. He laughed at the dangerous vixen. "Duncan's put out the word on you, girl. You won't be able to find very many suckers anymore."

The black-haired beauty pulled out a short sword she had had strapped to her thigh. "At least I can still get you. You look like you've only got a decade or two under your belt, while I have over two hundred years."

Santini quietly swallowed. He hoped his mentor, Amanda, had taught him well enough with the sword.

"You young ones are like fast food. Easy to get and gone just as fast." She laughed as Santini leaped back from a quick slash that would have disemboweled him had it connected.

Santini didn't have any more time for words. He was fighting for his life in a battle that only one could win. And he was beginning to think that that might just not be him.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

"Strange weather you have on your planet," Garak commented to the nearby Humans.

Stringfellow Hawke, who had just helped move Frank Parker in onto a bench for one of the doctors to examine him, regarded the Cardassian. He had never really thought much of aliens and UFOs before, but now with an alien standing there before him, he was very much intrigued. "How is it different from your planet?"

"Well, for one thing we don't have lightning strikes that go on repeatedly in a localized area."

Stringfellow had noticed the lights dimming briefly before but had thought nothing of it since he had been struggling to get Parker carried in with help from Garak. Now it meant a lot to him. "Where's Dominic?" he said, as he moved the shade from a nearby window aside, catching sight of the last few seconds of the lightning flickering on the other side of a nearby building.

Barney Fife walked up, carrying a cup of hot coffee in each hand. "Your copilot? He said something about having to check on something, then disappeared out towards the trees."

Stringfellow hurried out the door, ignoring the coffee the elder sheriff was offering him. "I told him to just run away from such things," Stringfellow muttered under his breath.

"Is there a problem, Hawke?" Garak asked, more out of curiosity then worry.

Seeing that the humanoid reptilian was about to follow him, Stringfellow just shook his head. "I have to check on this myself. You should stay with others. They'll probably need you to do something or other." Saying that, he turned and hurried away.

Garak looked back at the far end of the church were Sydney was getting ready to communicate with the captured drone Wade Welles. Julian Bashir was giddy with excitement of the prospect of exploring the inner being of the Borg collective and had already tuned out Garak long ago. Garak turned to the skinny sheriff. "I think our pilot friends may need us more than those here."

"We do seem to be tripping over each other here," admitted Barney Fife. Then a thought occurred to him and a look of concern crossed his face, "Hey! Wait a minute! Are you suggesting that we - that you and I _gulp_ follow them!"

"Just to see that everything actually is all right." Garak noted the evident concern in the sheriff's face. "You aren't afraid of walking out into the night with an alien from another planet, are you?"

Shaking his head profusely, spilling coffee as he did it, he answered, "No, no, no, no. We get people claiming to see strange UFO lights flying over the Mayberry countryside from time to time. We have quite a friendly attitude toward otherworldly visitors where I come from."

"Good." Garak smiled warmly to the sheriff. "Then let's go." The alien then turned and headed down the steps.

Barney gulped. Then with trembling hands the sheriff put down the coffee, spilling more of it, wiped his hands quick, and, much to his surprise, followed the Cardassian into the night.

Further inside the church, Hobbes was having an intense discussion with Oliver Sampson about the dangers to which Sydney Bloom would be exposing herself. The argument was mostly a facade, and both men knew it. They were just both very tense and needed to take it out on someone; luckily, they had each other. The others just let them yell at each other, not wanting the two men to focus on them or what they were doing.

Frohike waited at Langly side as the fellow Lone Gunmen began to recover from his traumatic ordeal now that the nanites had been purged from his system; but still Melvin's attention was riveted to the device that the attractive blond who had arrived in the fancy helicopter was setting up. "It looks like a phone system run through a computer."

Sydney Bloom looked over with a smile that normally would have left Frohike feeling like melted butter. "That's the basic setup, but there is more to it than that," she answered.

"There always is," Frohike muttered.

Sydney got the phone headpiece to stay on the comatose Wade Welles' head and then bit her lip in frustration. She had never seen anything like the mechanical devices that had been grafted to the young woman's body, let alone the circuitry running under her skin. She wasn't sure if the items connected to the Welles woman would interfere with what Sydney was about to try do or not, but she was still willing to give it a shot. She couldn't imagine the horrors this woman before her had been put through, but Sydney knew that she would soon be able to find out.

"Amazing," Bashir said as he put down his tricorder. "The electric impulses sent through these phone lines from that computer might actually let you virtually be in someone's mind." He studied his tricorder again. "I know quite a few psychiatrists back home that would love to explore this type of study." His dreams of presenting such a device, despite its rather primitive nature, was rudely disrupted when Oliver Sampson suddenly reached over and took his tricorder away, threw it to the ground and then smashed it with his foot.

"Are you mad?" shrieked Julian.

"No exchanges of technology has been made, Doctor," Sampson spoke coldly. "Examining our equipment beforehand is not part of any deals that I have made." He looked over at Bobby Hobbes to see what he had to say.

"Smashing their equipment wasn't part of the deal either," Hobbes spoke sarcastically. "That device could have been part of the trade."

Bashir ignored them both, retrieving his damaged tricorder from the floor with a look of disgust on his face. Though the tricorder's frame was bent a little, all the information it had gathered was still safely stored inside, not that he was about to let Sampson know that. "If we can just get on with this, I really don't like the way Miss Welles' life signs have been fluctuating."

"We deal first," Sampson said, remaining obstinate.

"No," came Sydney's quite voice from where she sat on a stool the young pastor of the church had provided for her. "We help first; then do your dealing."

"Sydney-" began Oliver.

"This woman doesn't have time for you to get a good ' _price_ ' for me risking my neck, Oliver." She set the second phone headset on her own head. "Go make your deals. I'm off to help Wade." Then she reached over to push a button to bring about a connection before Oliver could argue any further.

In her mind's eye, she was suddenly flying through a sea of bright lights before suddenly stopping. Usually she didn't have such a dramatic entrance when arriving into another person's subconscious, but then these were not ordinary circumstances. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and let out a shriek of surprise. This was not the holographic setting she had set up to meet Wade Welles in.

There directly in front of her was a snake-headed humanoid standing upright in some sort of device. To the left and to the right of the reptile man were other beings similarly standing upright on the same sort of device, only every person seemed to be of different origin. Some seemed more bovine or aquatic. Some were larger or had more appendages and mandibles. One thing was certain. Everything was more alien than anything else she had ever encountered before.

Taking a step back, Sydney began to notice more things. First, that she was in some type of hall made of metal that seemed to go on forever. She also seemed to instinctually know that there were more halls just like this above her, below her and both in front and back of her. Fortunately, the alien-like figures that lined these halls seemed to be unconscious. Lastly, that they did not appear to have a physical appearance, but were holographic instead.

Not seeing Wade Welles anywhere nearby, Sydney decided to examine the reptilian figure before her. Right away she noted that the holographic image was fashioned in such a way that a singular string of light bent and folded itself from the bottom, wrapping round and round, made up the image of the alien. Plus, a small thread of the holographic makeup seemed to extend about four inches from the figure and light up. This small piece of holographic thread seemed just a little brighter than the rest and continually moving at a slow rate through the rest of the alien image.

Deciding to try something, Sydney reached forward and touched the string.

 _Re'ain sat lazily on the hot boulder as she enjoyed the heat of the Auze, the orange sun beaming down on her. The hot, arid wind felt wonderful on her scales making her feel even more comfortable. A long-nosed varmint raised its head in search of prey or possible a handout, but she tossed a small rock at it instead sending it running for the rocky hills. Reclining back on the flat top of the boulder, she felt her swollen belly carefully, trying to count the number of eggs that she would give birth to in two weeks' time. She was happy for that very morning before she had left the city, she had received word that her mate, Tss'n, would be returning to Selay. During his encounters against the devious and mangy Anticans, he had been wounded, but not killed like her cousin's mate. Tss'n would be taking medical leave to recuperate from his battle wounds. Hopefully, his hand wouldn't fully regrow until all the egglings hatched. Then they could do the naming ritual together._

 _Re'ain felt another craving that all mothers dealt with. Deciding to indulge herself early, she reached over to an ornately decorated basket. Removing the lid, she picked up one of the fuzzy toles she had been overfeeding with grubs for the past couple days. Holding the little animal tight in her scaly hand, she examined the morsel closely. "Yes, you should be nice and tasty," she said approvingly. Her forked tongue licked her lips in anticipation, as she raised the tole over her head, tilted her head back while opening her mouth and let her jaw unhinge as she-_

Sydney stepped back from the holographic image. She breathed in and out of her mouth to keep from retching. When she had regained enough of her composer, she looked up at the image of Re'ain. She could see some of the feminine features now that she hadn't seen before due to the alieness of the figure. But when she had touched the alien holographic figure she had felt as if the eggs were within her own body. It had been Sydney reclining on the hot boulder in the hot sun contemplating her mate's return. "No, I was reliving Re'ain's memories," she told herself. "This is a recording. A recording of all, or at least some of, her experiences."

Sometime after that point in Re'ain's life that Sydney had just been privy to, Re'ain had met up with the Borg. Whether the Borg had come to Selay or Re'ain had left her home planet and run into Borg elsewhere was still a mystery to Sydney. She knew she could probably find out if she ever got up the nerve to touch the holographic figure again. But first she had to find Wade Welles. And try getting up the nerve again to touch another hologram.

"Wade?" she called out. "Wade Welles? I've come to help you."

A whimper made her turn to the right. She was about to walk toward the whimpering when she found that she was suddenly traveling a lot farther than she had intended. Perhaps even a mile of two in a split second. Up a few levels and off to one of the sides. How she knew all that, Sydney wasn't sure but accepted it as she had to accept a lot of things she had discovered while exploring other people's minds.

There between the holographic images of a giant silicone figure and a tall stocky, yet thin, figure with three legs, was Wade Welles. She, of all the figures Sydney had seen so far, was not a hologram, but appeared to be physically there. "Wade?" she called out gently so as to not catch the woman off guard. Wade, unlike her holographic companions, even though she was on a similar platform was curled up in a fetal position with an arm tightly covering her eyes. Her body trembled as she quietly cried. Also, she appeared to be the only one still on one of the stands that was outfitted as a drone.

Believing time was not on her side, with Wade's life signs fluctuating. Sydney had no desire to be inside Wade's brain if the drone died. Reaching out, she touched the young woman on the stand. Wade recoiled and Sydney almost did out of reflex. Steeling herself, Sydney grabbed one of Wade's arms and began to pull it away from her face. Surprisingly, Wade did not put up much resistance. Whether that was because she traumatically was set up to just receive whatever horrible thing was about to happen to her or that with her life slowly ebbing away she just didn't have the strength, Sydney didn't know; she just took advantage of the moment. The red lens with its red beam was the first thing Sydney saw.

"Look at me!" Sydney demanded.

Wade's other eye opened and for a moment regarded the woman. "You are separate!" she exclaimed in surprise. "You aren't connected to me! How are you doing that?"

"You want me to be a part of you?" Sydney didn't like the sound of that. From what the spandex wearing doctor, Bashir, had told her, the Borg tried to absorb everyone into their mental collective which Sydney, not exactly understanding all off that, decided was not a good thing.

"No!" cried the drone Welles. "I don't want anyone to be a part of me. I want to be alone. But I can't. I can't even think alone."

"What happens when you think?" the blond woman asked insistently.

The Welles drone settled on the ground with her back to the Borg regenerating receptacle. She trembled. "I start to think of something … anything really. And everyone in here starts to think with me. Whatever subject I start with, I suddenly have thousands, sometimes millions of reference points to sort through." She shuddered again. "And most of these minds are so alien. Some even evil."

The lights of the whole place dimmed briefly. Sydney looked around nervously while Wade seemed to just go still.

"I think I'm dying," Wade said quietly.

"You don't have to." Sydney reached out to the black leather clad woman with tubes and mechanical parts sticking out of her. "I was talking to Dr. Bashir and-"

"Dr. Julian Bashir. Chief Medical Officer on Deep Space Nine." Wade nodded. "I have references to him and a number of his research papers." She sighed sadly. "I just hope it'll be quiet when I'm dead. I really hate this whole cybernetic uni-mind thing."

Sydney was unsure what to do. She didn't want to leave the woman to die. But Wade seemed to have no desire to live. No reason to want to go on. Still she had to try something.

"You are the one in control, right?"

Wade looked around. "I seemed to be now that I've been disconnected from the Borg Collective. I'm basically on my own which usually means a drone tries to reestablish contact, or failing that, self-destructs." She mused for a moment. "Starfleet must have found a way around that."

"I'd like you to try something, if you don't mind." Wade seemed to be warming up to her, even though she still seemed very skittish and depressed. Wade nodded in willingness to at least hear her out. "I'm told that you were a computer programmer before you started jumping from world to world."

"A musician, too," Wade said weakly. "Keyboard."

Sydney nodded. "I want you to select someone here." She waved an arm out at the endless line of bodies. "One of the worst if you would."

Wade shook her head profusely. "No! I want little or no contact! Not direct contact!"

"You misunderstand. Think like using a computer. I want you to select someone, not access him or her… or it."

Wade nervously agreed. And before them a new figure appeared, highlighted in gray taking the place of the extremely hairy hologram that had been previously there. "Oi-Rtlier of Primus IV in the Beta Quadrant. Ran the death camp workers for twenty-three years before the Borg came. He personally oversaw the majority of the torture and created many of the means as to how to-

"Stop." Sydney looked the being over before her. Oi-Rtlier was mostly humanoid, except for an earthworm-like skin that covered his entire body. And the thin tentacles that came down where an Earthman would have a beard. "Can you delete him?" Wade didn't seem to comprehend. "Delete," Sydney repeated. "This hologram just represents a compiling of his memories and experiences. Can you delete it?"

Wade's looked at her in shock. Then turned to regard Oi-Rtlier of Primus IV. And then he was gone.

Suddenly, the rest of the holograms in Sydney's view were highlighted in gray. "Stop!"

Wade's metal and black leather clad head turned to regard her. "Why? You have shown me how to reclaim my mind. Why stop now?"

"Deleting all of them may be too much. It may kill you."

"A chance well worth taking." Wade was standing tall now. She no longer felt like she couldn't do anything about the situation. She could push it all away with one quick stroke. And what ever happened after that was better then what had been happening.

"But you could turn it to your gain."

Wade stood there looking at Sydney. Seeing as how Wade had not deleted the rest of the holograms right away, Sydney started in on detailing her argument.

"These holograms represent the culture and intellect of hundreds, perhaps thousands of alien races. Think what you could do with that! That technology, that wisdom and knowledge, all at your fingertips, literally. The things you could make and accomplish."

"I could go home," Wade Welles whispered. "To my Earth." She stood there for a moment. "Quinn."

"A boyfriend or husband?"

A smile actually crossed Wade's face. "A friend. But it could have been more. Perhaps if we had more things like science to talk about…, but I… don't know."

Sydney understood that. Men made passes at her all the time, but she wanted someone she could talk to, someone to relate to, and that was just too hard when you worked with things like virtual reality programs that let you go into someone's mind. You can't share that type of information. "Well, now that you have access to a lot of scientific technologies and theories you can… find something to talk about."

Wade looked at the walls of holographic figures around her, all still highlighted in gray. "But it's all still so much."

"Then downsize. Just keep the ones that seem most useful or interesting." She had another idea. "You may even be able to just delete the parts of memory of a drone that are useless or just too bad to go over." Her experience with Re'ain came to mind. "And don't delete those that just seem to alien. You may be able to learn something from them as well. Think about it. You can actually put yourself in another person's shoes. Even if they were an alien. Think of the insight that gives you."

"I'll think about it," Wade agreed. "But those like Oi-Rtlier are definitely going."

Sydney regarded the young woman before her. Wade was standing taller, though a little unsure, with more confidence. Even the lights in the hall seemed brighter. "Are you going to be okay?"

Wade's appearance morphed. Gone was the black leather, tubing and metal appendages of the drone. Wade now wore a light yellow and red sundress. "Yes. I'm just going to be doing a little spring-cleaning and then I'll be along. Thank you. You can go; I'll be along momentarily."

"Don't you want-" Sydney suddenly found herself flying back through the same lightshow that she had passed through to get there.

She jerked suddenly and found herself back at the church with Dr. Bashir on one side of her and Oliver on the other.

"Miss Bloom?" Julian inquired. "Is everything all right? Did you experience anything at all?"

She held up a hand to hold them back while rubbing her temple with her spare. "How long was I gone?"

"For about three seconds," Oliver said. He still seemed miffed that she had just jumped the gun and not let him make his deal. Sydney shrugged him off for now. It would be a little while before he would accept that he had not gotten his way.

"So something did happen?" Dr. Bashir asked with a hint of exuberance. He began to raise a spare tricorder to examine the female drone lying prone before him when her remaining eye opened and regarded him.

Seeing that Bashir froze, Sydney stepped forward to Wade, making sure to place herself between the young drone and Bobby Hobbes who had drawn his gun. "Wade? Wade, it's Sydney."

The young woman's face, even though covered with Borg implements, managed a weak smile. "I was wondering what your name was." Her voice was slightly strained but seemed to show promise.

As the two women began communication, Oliver grabbed Julian's arm and pulled him back a few feet. "You got what you wanted, now let's negotiate."

Before Oliver could continue, Bashir held up a hand. "I'm a doctor. Not a deal broker. Any deals you make you do through Garak. I still have a patient to examine. She is clearly still weak from her ordeal." Thus resolved, Julian went and introduced himself to the reclaimed Wade Welles.

Oliver was slightly steamed. He had risked a lot to bring Sydney out here. He had to show a profit for it, or he would be the one paying the price. It didn't help matters that Bobby Hobbes was smirking at him. To the far left, Keeply finished repatching Frank Parker's shoulder. The woman seemed to collapse next to her patient. The late night and tragedy of Darien Fawkes was taking its toll on her. She sat there listening to Parker breath as she stared at the specks on the wall and tried to make sense of it all.

Oliver regarded Frohike who was getting coffee from Pastor Kenton. The quiet man seemed to be taking a lot of interest in everything that was going on. And for some reason he felt that he should know the man. He shrugged and walked to the door. Worse comes to worse, he'd sanction a kill on the man. Hobbes followed. "Where's that lizard man? I'd like to know what I'm getting for all this Good Samaritan work I'm doing."

"Garak?" Hobbes asked innocently. "I think he went for a walk."

Oliver grumbled to himself as he walked down the outside steps to try find Garak.

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

"It opens like this," Tom Paris said as he opened the tab on the top of the pop can.

"I've been to the twentieth century a couple of times. I know how to open the blasted things," Scotty said, taking the beverage from the young man. "Wish the replicators could do a decent job on making these," he commented before taking a good swig of Mountain Dew.

They were looking at what appeared to have been a battle, except all the bodies were missing. Those from Starfleet were accepted this as one of the methods of the Borg, however, those from Babylon 5 found it most unsettling. Currently, they were letting Galen use some of his more unique probes, in the form of inch-long glowing fairies and dragons, to find the areas that the Borg occupied, as well as wait for the enigmatic Doctor and his group. Meanwhile Guinan, Tom Paris and Scotty were checking out the different selections that had fallen out of a fallen over pop machine.

"I wish there was a root beer," commented Guinan as she perused through what was available and not leaking. Finally, she settled on a can of Squirt. She kept her rifle at her side hanging from a strap over her shoulder.

Tom took a swig of his Dr. Pepper. "It's been a while. But worth the wait."

Scotty put down his empty Mountain Dew and reached for another can. "This is all going to get pretty intense." It was more a statement that anything else.

"It always is with the Borg," Tom replied. He crushed his now empty can in his hand, then made a toss at nearby trash receptacle, missed, but didn't care because the whole area was already quite a mess.

"The best thing to do is to fight with all you have and then some." Guinan looked determined, even zealous.

It was Scotty that broached the subject. "You still want us to…" He left the sentence incomplete, not wanting to say it.

"Yes," Guinan said, with grim determination. "If the Borg capture me alive, kill me. Simple as that. I would rather die than become a drone for the Borg."

Tom gazed around the room for a moment, checking on where everyone was. "You know, a few people have been reclaimed from the Borg and-"

Guinan cut him off. "I won't go through that. They won't do to me what they did to my people." She then brushed off her clothes of some of the dirt that had gathered there. She then left to find a moment of solitude. Tom and Scotty sat there in silence, deep in thought and neither wishing to be the first to say something about the matter.

Near a staircase leading to the second floor, Lennier was bending down to retrieve a page of a newspaper that had fallen there. Contemplating it for a moment, he carefully folded it up and placed it in a bag he carried.

"You don't look like the type to get into the funnies."

Lennier turned to regard Alfred Bester, the telepath. "Funnies?" he asked, unsure of what he was referring to.

"The comic strip that newspaper you put into your bag. They were sometimes called ' _the funnies_ '."

"Ah, yes." He patted the bag gently. "A gift for Mr. Garibaldi," he said, in explanation. "A souvenir, I believe you call it."

Bester snorted. "That's right. Garibaldi collected items like that. A simple hobby for a simple mind."

Lennier politely disagreed. "Anyone who really knew Mr. Garibaldi knows that he is much more complex than he lets on."

"Ha!" The telepath didn't say anything else. He gently massaged his forehead. The voices, some human, mostly alien, were getting louder. His other hand moved toward a compartment on his belt. Inside were a number of small white pills that would temporarily reduce a telepath's mental abilities. The pills were just one of the tools that he would use to help take down a particularly strong telepath. Then, that telepath could receive the proper instruction from Psi Corps and would soon realize just who their friends were. Everyone who went through the process soon learned that the Corp was their family and the only ones they could truly trust. Now, however, the pills he would usually force upon a potential initiate could be the only thing to save him from losing his mind to the ever growing torrent of mental thoughts of the Borg uni-mind. But, no, he pulled his hand from the compartment. To take a pill now would leave him helpless, mentally and even partially physically incapacitate him to a degree. Not even on his worst day was he going to trust these ' _comrades_ ' he was working with to protect him. As far as he was concerned, no telepath could trust a non-telepath or even an alien. Especially not a Minbari like Lennier.

"Something is troubling you?" Lennier asked with some concern. The Human had been standing there with his eyes closed for almost a minute with a look frustration and pain on his face. Now that Lennier spoke, however, Bester's face cleared of any turmoil. "You should mind your own business, Minbari," Alfred snapped. "Stick to collecting souvenirs for your friends." He turned and stormed away.

Lennier puzzled over the strange behavior of the telepath for a moment, comparing it to some of the more unusual mood swings of the Centari. Seeing that the others of his group were still not ready to move on, the young Minbari sat down and began to meditate and trying to understand the aggressive similarities between the telepath and the Centari.

Dureena was enjoying running a check on the location for the Borg. It was almost like a game for her as she guided the holographic fairies and dragons throughout the center. "The center mass of them seem to be in the basement," she said out loud. "They probably set themselves up there a few days ago just as this convention was just getting started, taking a few people here and there until they had enough to converge on the rest."

She could hear the Starfleet admiral arguing with her mentor in the background, but she ignored them and continued with her update. "The connecting hotel only has ten drones in it. They seemed to be recycling some of the equipment in the kitchen and in the main boiler room." She concentrated on getting a closer look through her visual connection to one of the holographical mythical creations spying for her. "Haven't seen technology like that before. It seems to be a converter of some sort." Through her ' _eye_ ' she saw one of the drones turn towards her, then to her surprise, that eye blinked out. "They took out my Chinese dragon!"

"You were being overconfident," Galen reprimanded lightly as he checked the data feed. "Fortunately, the ' _dragon_ ' destroyed itself before the drone could examine it too closely." He was actually quite proud of his young student and the speed of which she learned things. Some of the dragon designs she had even made herself. "You were so busy looking for the Borg, however, that you failed to notice the two men coming down the hall. As well as the drones pursuing them."

Dureena had one of her winged fairies fly up through the floor from where it had been doing a run through one of the underground access tunnels, did a quick sweep of the hall to confirm her mentor's facts. Sighing at having made such an obvious slip, she waved her hand in front of her eyes, returning her sight back to her surroundings and not those of her unearthly creations. Her little mythical facsimiles would remain scouting for drones, however, even without her guidance until she sent for them to return to her.

Admiral Owen Paris was not that pleased by all that he had heard. "You say you can tell where all the Borg drones are, but you missed the drones closest to us?"

"Hey! I'm still new to techno-mage technology!"

"But doing quite well as you learn it," amended her mentor, Galen.

The admiral wanted to press the matter, but realized he didn't have time. Two men were hobbling down the hall and right towards them. The taller, sturdier built man had a thick mustache and was half pulling, half dragging his much shorter and balder companion who seemed to be just waking up.

The big man almost spun in his track when he saw Lennier and the bony protrusion on the backside of his skull. But he stopped when he realized that there were no drones around and that the rest of the people in the room seemed Human.

"Broots, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore. Washington, either for that matter," Thomas Magnum said to his companion. "These people are weirder than the guys with swords."

"Swords?" Broots looked up in confusion at the man supporting him.

"You were out for that encounter. I'll fill you in later. For now, just chalk it up as one more thing to add to this day of weirdness."

A shot from behind them caused both men, Broots being pulled, to jump to the side of the wall around the corner.

"Find cover!" Thomas Magnum shouted to the strangers in the room. Most did just that, as well as pulling out a variety of unusual weapons the likes of which Magnum nor Broots had ever seen before. Admiral Paris, his son Tom, and Scotty all had modified laser rifles. Guinan had a similarly sized weapon, but of her native El-Aurian design colored red and gray. Bester also had a weapon out, but did not have a clear shot from where he was positioned. Dureena fiddled with something in her pouch, but seemed uncertain as to what to use. Lennier took cover near Dureena, but did not reach for any weapon.

Galen was the only one not to duck for cover, but instead stood where he was in the open. One of the Borg incapacitating blasts hit the techno-mage in the chest, but with no effect. "Curious," he commented. Then with a wave of his hand, a cloud of pink dust flew out at the drone twenty-five feet away, settling around it. The drone looked down as the material solidified around him, which left it without the ability to move.

A drone coming up behind the first drone received a deadly hail of shots from Guinan's weapon. The first shot was more than enough to kill the drone, but Guinan was not about to make a mistake where the Borg was concerned. She was about to shoot the one Galen had entrapped when Tom pushed her gun to the side.

"Let the techno-mage look at the drone. I think he trapped it for a reason." He saw the fire in her eyes. Her entire race had almost been wiped out by the Borg, including her family. But Tom also knew that such a hate could consume her if left unchecked. Guinan lowered her laser rifle. But said nothing to the pilot from Voyager. Instead she went to go introduce herself to the two newcomers, Magnum and Broots.

The others began to conjugate around Galen's prize catch. The catch itself was only able to move its head slightly to look up at the people coming toward it. Tom was scanning the drone, yet was unable to help himself and reached out to touch the pink substance that had formed around it, leaving only its head exposed. "It's hard." He looked to Galen for answers. "My tricorder says that it's hardened mineral deposits. The kind that takes hundreds of years - maybe even a thousand - to form in caves. How did you make it form so fast like that? And why pink?"

Galen gently tisked while waving a finger at him. "You should know that a good magician never reveals their secrets."

"Except to their apprentices," Dureena added. "I definitely look forward to hearing how you did that," she said to her teacher.

Galen's interests were on the drone, however. "Amazing," he said in almost a whisper. "He resembles my father, Alwyn." He noticed his apprentice's look of inquiry. "I have not seen him since he and the other techno-mages left on their journey." The trapped drone that once was Robert McCall, sometimes known as the Equalizer, said nothing to the attention being given it. Instead, it studied its situation and the substance it had been encased within.

"It's so loud," Bester murmured painfully to himself while Lennier slowly circled the drone to contemplate this new enemy from every side.

Scotty tried to make sense of what his tricorder was telling him about the drone, and was shaking his head in disbelief and horror. "You would think that a creature this advanced wouldn't have go around absorbing other races technology."

"Consider the drone before you," Lennier said. "It resembles more an android or robot than a lifeform. Perhaps the Borg, being a type of machine race, do not have the spark of their own imagination to create, but can only apply the knowledge that they have accumulated from others."

"Which would explain why they assimilate people as well as technology," Tom said as if a new concept was just coming to light. "In order to absorb new ideas and concepts that they themselves cannot come up with."

All theories aside, Admiral Owen Paris was more concerned with what this captured drone actually meant for them. Could they use it or was it just a hazard to have around? "Is this safe?" the Starfleet admiral asked with concern to their close proximity to the drone.

"Of course it is," Dureena said as she leaned in to look the drone eye to eye. The red light caused by the drone's prosthetic eye played across her face. "See," she said to the others. "It's perfectly safe."

The tubules extended from the drone's wrist, cutting through the mineral deposit that entrapped the drone like it was butter.

"Oh!" Dureena exclaimed, looking down at the two thin metal tubes that had suddenly stabbed her in the chest.

"Dureena!" Galen called out in concern. He pulled her away from the drone and into her his arms. Her body was twitching as the nano-probes began spreading throughout her body. "Dureena?" he asked. Tom helped Galen ease Dureena down onto the ground. Her face seemed to lose color as the grayish tendrils caused by the nanites creeped across it.

Dureena's eyes fluttered. "Ga-Galen? It hurts!"

The techno-mage had all of the hidden sensors on his person diagnosing her condition. The nanites were tearing through her body, setting up a metallic neural pathway in its wake. Sensor relays and control systems were being placed periodically throughout Dureena without regard to the pain that it caused. The nanites were claiming this new host body for the Borg.

Galen grabbed the drone by the head, gripping it harshly. "Free her from whatever you did to her! Do you understand me?" The drone just stared at him with a zombie-like apathy.

Galen turned back to Dureena, pushing Tom out of his way.

"Dr. Bashir had something that should take the nanites out. And then-"

Galen wasn't listening to the younger Paris. Dureena was more than an apprentice to him. She had become like a daughter. As he watched her eyes glaze over, he snapped like any father would. And lashed out at the drone. "You are many, but I strike at you all!"

It looked like a little light blue rubber ball, but he threw it at the drone with all his might. "You shall not have her! Or any others!" The ball passed through the pink mineral deposits and then into the chest of the drone. The drone instantly began sputtering and choking. Various parts smoked or sparked. A thin black hose going from its chest to its neck burst, spraying the wall until slowly dripping a pale gray substance.

Bester gasped in agony, falling to the ground and grabbing his head. The veins in his head throbbed visibly on his forehead and neck. And for a few seconds, everyone in the room could feel Bester's telepathic presence in their minds as if he were feeling about like a panicked blind man. He laid on the ground in a fetal position as Scotty and Tom tried to get him to relax and tell them what had happened. "It's been splintered," he murmured. "Shattered!" he gasped. "But shards remain." Then he mercifully passed out.

"What did you just do?" asked Admiral Paris. He was somewhat in awe and felt a great deal of respect for the techno-mage. As well as a bit of apprehension.

Guinan had come back over from where she had been dealing with Thomas Magnum and Broots. Seeing that Galen had returned his attention back to Dureena and wasn't responding to anyone else, she decided to state what she thought happened. "I could be wrong, but I think he just gave the Borg Collective uni-mind a stroke."

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **AuThOr'S NoTeS:** _7/03/2020_

 _As many of you may remember, this story is a rewrite that I had originally started in 1997 or 1998. This particular chapter I think was written in about 2004. As I go through this after so much time, I am surprised at my creativity as well as dismayed at so many errors I had left when I had posted it. Anyway, below here is my original notes I had added to the story as well as a list of story ideas I had added that maybe someone would like to consider taking on to write. Just let me know, because I would be interested in checking it out._

 **Author's notes:**

 _Well the Borg are down so that must mean everything is over. Wrong! I still have Lex Luthor a.k.a. Brainiac of Borg to do something with. Also there is Mark Gordon to work with. What to do about Kenny and so on._

 _I hope everyone likes what I did with the Borg mindscape in Wade Welles' mind. Since Wade is offline, technically, from the Borg, and didn't automatically terminate, she would have to restructure her mind. Also, Seven of Nine always seemed to have all this memories from other people that had been assimilated that she would make reference to. I'm just trying to give my idea of how she is able to do that. Pretty cool, huh?_

 _For those who may have forgotten, I mentioned Felicia Martins (played by Joan Jett with only one appearance on Highlander) as having been in the area trying to hunt down Kenny, the child Immortal. And now I have her facing off against Dominic Santini, with him being a young Immortal is how I can explain why he is alive again._

 _As for Harry and Helen Tasker from the movie True Lies, I figure that such a big public event as what is happening at the convention center should really attract some big government attention. Besides, Mulder had called Skinner on his cell phone and told him something was going on. Skinner had to call someone about it. Then there is the fact that I am planning to use another Arnold Schwarzenegger character in a later story. And you all must have noticed by now that I have a lot of body doubles floating around. I have their daughter, Dana Tasker, as an intern agent because the movie seemed to indicate at the end that she was now becoming more involved with her father's work. Plus, it has been a few years so she would be older as well._

 _Regarding Alfred Bester, the Psi-Corp cop that we all love to hate, I'm planning to use an idea that AlbertG suggested. Somebody else suggested something for Lennier that I also think is a good idea. But I'm not telling right now. You will have to read and find out for yourselves later._

 _Our angel friends, Monica, Andrew, Tess (from_ _Touched by an Angel_ _) and Jonathan (from_ _Highway to Heaven_ _) will all be back soon. Including the Devil (from Brimstone). Don't want you to think I forgot them._

 _The snake-like Selay and the dog-like Anticans are two races that warred against each other and both tried to get Federation membership in the ST: TNG –'Lonely Among Us' episode. Oi-Rtlier of Primus IV was totally made up by me so don't go tearing through your Star Trek reference books trying to find him._

 ** _Continually thinking of new plots. Here are some of the ideas I had floating around in my head._**

1\. _A ten-year reunion / murder mystery for the kids from the Breakfast Club. John, the rebellious one, is murdered and the others are trying to find out who killed him. I would lay out the different ups and downs the previous ten years had taken them before exposing their old principal as the murder. If you remember in the movie, when the principal had gotten John alone, he had said that years later he'd come after him and that's how the whole plot formed in my head around that._

2\. _An 80's version of League of Extra-Ordinary Gentlemen. I was thinking of using a number of characters from 80's movies as a team put together by President Reagan for unusual missions, calling them Reagan's Regulators. Characters from Back to the Future, Teen Wolf, The Fly II, Buckaroo Banzi, Cocoon, Rambo, Honey I Shrunk the Kids and some other movies I just can't think of right now would be brought together and asked to take on things like the Blob, Predator, or even communicating with the creatures from the Abyss._

3\. _This one won't ever happen but would have a villain in the Buffyverse use something I call the Shard of Possibilities which traps her and various doubles of herself and friends and foes from various parallel realities inside it and have to fight until either good or evil prevail. There would be about 4 or 5 different versions of Buffy herself, for example. You really have to wrap your brain around alternate realities to really enjoy something like this that is something I can really get into if it is written well._

4\. _I also have ideas for various comic book story lines which may never happen and are too many and varied to name here. I was a big fan of Jess Nevin's Liberators series on the MV1 site. Highly recommend it as it is beautifully written, if a tad dark at times. It's a collection of Marvel/Timely WWII heroes formed into a group called the Liberators. The Liberators fight on the side of the Allies during WWII and fight a large number of Axis super-powered soldiers. I've actually thought about taking the series up and continuing it. You can find it on the MV1 Marvel Comics fanfiction website under the Tapestry section._

5\. _I've also pondered a crossover with Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld series. The Riverworld concept is that aliens had set up a device on Earth to record all of mankinds memories from caveman time to the early 1980's. Than on a terraformed world in another galaxy, everyone who had ever lived and died suddenly wakes up new and refreshed on the shore of the river that weaves all around the planet. Farmer had used a number of historically famous people to get together to find the source of the river and try discover the reason for their resurrection. For my crossover, I'd include the heroes and villains of the DC comic books. Those that had powers would still have them, but those that used devices or weapons would have to try make something work for them on Riverworld. Oh, and I recommend the Riverworld series to anyone who needs a good book series to start reading on._

¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸¸.•´¯`

 **Characters in order of appearance or just being mentioned:**

 **MacLeod, Duncan** (Adrian Paul) – from the TV series Highlander (1992-1997)

 **Borg** – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation

 **Dawson, Joe** (Jim Byrnes) – from the TV series Highlander (1993-1998)

 **Species 8472** – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (mentioned only)

 **MacLeod, Connor** (Christopher Lambert) – from the movie Highlander (1986)

 **Steele, Remington** (Pierce Brosnan) – from the TV series Remington Steele (1982-1987)

 **Pierson, Adam / Methos** (Peter Wingfield) – from the TV series Highlander (1995-1998)

 **Kolchak, Carl** (Darren McGavin) – from the TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1984-1985) (mentioned only)

 **Aliens** (1986) (mentioned only)

 **Weaver, Sigourney** (mentioned only)

 **Magnum, Thomas** (Tom Selleck) – from the TV series Magnum P.I. (1980-1988)

 **Broots** (Jon Gries) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Kent, Clark Jerome / Kal-El** (Tom Welling) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Lang, Lana** (Kristin Kreuk) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2009)

 **Sullivan, Chloe** (Allison Mack) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Luthor, Lex** (Michael Rosenbaum) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)

 **Wojciehowicz, Stan** ** _'Wojo'_** (Max Gail) – from the TV series Barney Miller (1975-1982)

 **Doctor, The 4th** (Tom Baker) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1974-1981)

 **K-9 Mark I** (voiced by John Leeson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-?)

 **Stone, Ezekiel** ** _'Zeke'_** (Peter Horton) – from the TV series Brimstone (1998-1999)

 **Gordon, Mark** (Victor French) – from the TV series Highway to Heaven (1984-1989)

 **Kenny** (Myles Ferguson) – from the TV series Highlander (1994-1995)

 **Leela** (Louise Jameson) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1977-1978)

 **King-Stetson, Mrs. Amanda** (Kate Jackson) – from the TV series Scarecrow & Mrs. King (1983-1987)

 **MacGyver, Angus** (Richard Dean Anderson) – from the TV series MacGyver (1985-1992)

 **Parker, Catherine** (Andrea Parker) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Jarod** (Michael T. Weiss) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Sydney** (Patrick Bauchau) – from the TV series Pretender (1996-2000)

 **Scully, Dana** (Gillian Anderson) – from the TV series X-Files (1993-2002)

 **Mulder, Fox** (David Duchovny) – from the TV series X-Files (1993-2002)

 **Tess** (Della Reese) – from the TV series Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)

 **Stetson, Lee** ** _'Scarecrow'_** (Bruce Boxleitner) – from the TV series Scarecrow & Mrs. King (1983-1987)

 **Lennier** (Bill Mumy) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998)

 **Byers, John Fitzgerald** (Bruce Harwood) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Bozinsky, Murray** ** _'Boz'_** (Thom Bray) – from the TV series Riptide (1984-1986)

 **Penhall, Doug** (Peter DeLuise) – from the TV series 21 Jump Street (1987-1992)

 **Penhall, Joey** (Michael DeLuise) – from the TV series 21 Jump Street (1987-1992)

 **Tasker, Harry** (Arnold Schwarzenegger) – from the movie True Lies (1994)

 **Tasker, Helen** (Jamie Lee Curtis) – from the movie True Lies (1994)

 **Gibson, Albert** (Tom Arnold) – from the movie True Lies (1994)

 **The Cigarette Smoking Man** (William B. Davis) – from the TV series The X-Files (1993-2002)

 **McCall, Robert** (Edward Woodward) – from the TV series The Equalizer (1985-1989)

 **Macomber, Brother Alwyn** (Roy Brocksmith) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1997) (mentioned only)

 **Garibaldi, Michael** (Jerry Doyle) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998)

 **Parker, Lt. Frank** (Jonathan LaPaglia) – from the TV series Seven Days (1998-2001)

 **Talmadge, Dr. Bradley** (Alan Scarfe) – from the TV series Seven Days (1998-2001) (mentioned only)

 **Section One** – from the TV series La Femm Nikita (1997-2001)

 **SPECTRE** – from the movie series with James Bond

 **Tasker, Dana** (Eliza Dushku) – from the movie True Lies (1994)

 **Fife, Sherriff Barney** (Don Knotts) – from the TV series The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)

 **Santini, Dominic** (Ernest Borgnine) – from the TV series Airwolf (1984-1986)

 **Bloom, Sydney** (Lori Singer) – from the TV series VR.5 (1995)

 **Sampson, Oliver** (Anthony Head) – from the TV series VR.5 (1995)

 **Garak, Elim** (Andrew Robinson) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Martins, Felicia** (Joan Jett) – from the TV series Highlander (1995)

 **Hawke, Stringfellow** (Jan-Michael Vincent) – from the TV series Airwolf (1984-1986)

 **Welles, Wade** (Sabrina Lloyd) – from the TV series Sliders (1995-1997)

 **Bashir, Dr. Julian** (Siddig El Fadil) – from the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

 **Hobbes, Agent Robert '** ** _Bobby_** **'** (Paul Ben-Victor) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Frohike, Melvin** (Tom Braidwood) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Langly, Richard** ** _'Ringo'_** (Dean Haglund) – from the TV series X-Files (1994-2002), The Lone Gunmen (2001)

 **Selay species** – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation

 **Mallory, Quinn** **_'Q-Ball'_** (Jerry O'Connell) – from the TV series Sliders (1995-1999) (mentioned only)

 **Keeply, Claire** ** _'The Keeper'_** (Shannon Kenny) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Fawkes, Darien** (Vincent Ventresca) – from the TV series The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

 **Paris, Adm. Owen** (Richard Herd) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1999-2001)

 **Scott, Cdr. Montgomery** ** _'Scotty'_** (James Doohan) – from the TV series Star Trek (1966-1969)

 **Galen** (Peter Woodward) – from the TV series Crusade (1999)

 **Guinan** (Whoopi Goldberg) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988-1993)

 **Bester, Alfred** (Walter Koenig) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998)

 **Garibaldi, Michael** (Jerry Doyle) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998) (mentioned only)

 **Nafeel, Dureena** (Carrie Dobro) – from the TV series Crusade (1999)

 **Paris, Adm. Owen** (Richard Herd) – from the TV series Star Trek: Voyager (1999-2001)


End file.
